Desperation
by ForeverSmiles
Summary: Teddy loves Willow. Willow loves Teddy. Everyone else can see it, except for them. It's sad, really. Teddy/OC
1. The Beginning

"Mom, can I camp out in the treehouse with Maddie?" I asked over dinner.

"Madison Faulkner? She's sort of a whore, don't you think?" I rolled my eyes. Well yeah, but my mom was the queen of the whores.

"She's OK, Mom." My mom sighed.

"Alright. You can go. But on one condition." I groaned.

"What is it?"

"You have to take your sister with you."

"Really?" Paige (my 13-year-old sister) cried, happily and I groaned.

"Mom! Maddie and I don't want my pesky little sister hanging around all night!"

"Shut up, Willow!" Paige snapped. "I'm only 1 year younger than you, you bitch!"

"Hey, hey, cut it out, you two! My decision is final. Now go pack, both of you." I groaned and stomped upstairs, Paige skipping happily along behind me.

Paige and I headed out the back door, our bags slung over our shoulders.

"This is gonna be fun!" Paige chirped, and I rolled my eyes. "Hey, are the rest of your gang coming?"

"What are you talking about? The only other people ar Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern."

"Yeah, I know. Are they gonna be there?"

"No! It's a sleepover, not a sex-over."

"WHAT?"

"Chris is Maddie's boyfriend. Didn't you know that?"

"Oh! Oh, well, yeah. But what about you?" I was getting annoyed.

"What about me?"

"It wouldn't be a sex-over for you. You don't have a boyfriend." Paige gasped. "Or do you?"

"No, I don't." Before Paige could open her mouth again, I pointed and broke into a run. "There's the treehouse!" I could hear Paige running behind me, and I quickly climbed up the ladder.

"Maddie! It's me!" I cried, and the trap door to the treehouse swung open.

"Willoooowww, hiiii! Who's that with you?"

"That's my sister, Paige. My mom's making me take her iwth. I hope that's OK," I said, climbing into the treehouse with Paige on my heels.

"Yeah, sure!" Maddie cried, clapping her hands together. "The more the merrier, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," I said, throwing my bag into a corner and digging a cigarette out of my back pocket, and lighting up. Paige stared, her eyes wide.

"Willow, you smoke?" she shrieked, and Maddie scoffed.

"I know. Gross, right? She and all the guys do it. I'm the only one that doesn't."

"Yeah. She's afraid that smoking will ruin her _cheerleader _reputation," I said, smirking and Maddie glared at me.

"Shut up, Willow!" My smirk grew even wider and I started in on my chant:

"I don't shut up, I grow up! And when I look at you, I throw up! BLACH!" Maddie groaned and Paige just looked confused.

She has a LOT of catching up to do.

Paige, Maddie, and I were all sitting around, playing cards and gossiping, with me smoking a cigarette and the radio blasting.

"Rockin' Robin" came on the radio and Maddie said, "Man, what a great way to end summer with a bang."

"Hey, Maddie, do you remember another way we ended summer with a bang? Like your first summer at Castle Rock (2 years ago)?" She thought for a moment, and then gasped.

"Shut _up_, Wil! Don't even TALK about that!"

"What? What?" Paige cried, frantically.

"Maddie, I think I have to tell the story."

"NOOO!" Maddie howled, throwing her cards on the table.

"YES!" I turned to Paige and started to talk...


	2. Ray Brower

I was sitting up in the treehouse, fiddling with my guitar while Chris, Teddy, and Gordie were playing cards.

"Hey, it's the Bossman, Bob Cormier here. It's a beautiful Friday morning in Portland! It's 90 K-L-A-M degrees and gettin' hotter! Up the ladder with another platter, it's Bobby Day with 'Rockin' Robin.' It's BOSS!" the announcer yelled and the song boomed throughout the treehouse.

I tried to keep up with the song on the guitar, but I was about 6 or 7 seconds behind.

"Wil, you suck," Gordie said and I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up, you tool!"

"Hey...how do you know if a frenchman's been in your backyard?" Chris asked.

"Hey, I'm French, okay?" Teddy said.

"Your garbage cans are empty and your dog's pregnant," Chris said and he, Gordie, and I burst out laughing, causing me to stop attempting to play 'Rockin' Robin' and put my guitar on the floor.

"Didn't I just say I was French?"

"I knock," Chris yelled and Teddy groaned.

"Shit!"

"Twenty-nine," Chris announced, slapping down his cards.

"Twenty-two," Teddy moaned, doing the same.

Gordie threw his cards down on the table and yelled, "Piss up a rope!"

"Gordie's out! Ol' Gordie just bit the bag and stepped out the door!" Teddy cried and laughed his famous Teddy Duchamp laugh: eeee-eee-eeeee!

"Come on, man, deal," Chris said, and Teddy did.

"I knock."

"You four-eyed pile of shit!" Chris shouted, frowning.

"A pile of shit has a _thousand _eyes!" Teddy said, smirking and all three of us (Chris, Gordie, and I) bust out laughing again. "What? What's so funny? Come on, I've got thirty, what've _you _got?"

"Sixteen," Chris said, laughing to himself.

"Go ahead, keep laughing. You're down to your ride, pal," Teddy grumbled and I peeked over Gordie's shoulder to read the article that he was reading.

"Uhh...personal space bubble, Wil," he said.

"Be quiet, Gord-o," I replied, but returned back to my guitar. There's a knock on the treehouse trap door.

"That's not the secret knock!" Gordie called, not looking up from his magazine.

"I forgot the secret knock. Lemme in!" the voice moaned.

"Vern." we all said at the same time, but let him in, anyway.

"Oh man! You guys are not gonna believe this! This is so boss! Oh man! Wait'll you hear this! You won't believe it. It's unbelievable." Vern paused to suck in a breath of air, and I rolled my eyes. He was such a spaz. "Let me catch my breath. I ran all the way from my house."

I just had to. I couldn't resist. I started playing the tune to "I Ran All the Way Home" and Chris started singing right away; Gordie and Teddy quickly jumped in.

"I ran all the wa-ay home, just to say I'm sor-ry!" All three of them sang, and I shuddered and stopped playing.

"Man, singing is _definitely _not the career for you guys."

"Yeah, like you could do any better," Teddy shot back.

"OK, forget it. I don't have to tell you nothin'," Vern pouted and Chris signaled me to stop playing, so I did.

"Alright. Hold on, you guys, hold on. What is it, man?" he asked.

"OK. Great, you won't believe this. Sincerely-" Vern started, but I cut him off as I started playing the song again; the guys jumped right in again:

"I ran all the wa-ay home..."

"Screw you guys! Forget it!" Vern yelled and I laughed and put my guitar down (again).

"Sorry, Vern-o," I said. "What is it?"

Vern perked right up. "Can you guys camp out tonight? I mean, if you tell your folks we're gonna tent out in my back field?"

"Yeah, my mom's got a "date" tonight," I said, making air quotes around date because my mom was the biggest slutbag in Castle Rock. Sincerely, she must have slept with every (legal) guy in town at least twice.

"Yeah, I think so. Except my dad's kind of on a mean streak, you know, been drinkin' a lot lately," Chris said, shrugging and dealing the cards again.

"You've got to, man. Sincerely. You won't believe this! Can you, Gordie?"

"Yeah, probably," Gordie replied.

"So what are you pissin' and moanin' about, Vern-o?" Teddy complained.

"I knock," Chris said, suddenly and Teddy's attention snapped back to the game.

"What? You liar! You ain't got no pat hand! You didn't deal yourself no pat hand!"

"Make your draw, _shitheap_!" Chris replied, smirking.

"Come on, you guys-" I started, leaning forward when Vern interrupted me:

"You guys wanna go see a dead body?"

We all dropped what we were doing to lean forward and listen to what Vern had to say, closely.

"Well, I was under the porch, digging, you know...and then Billy and Charlie Hogan came out and they started talking:

Charlie: 'Jesus Christ, Billy. We gotta do something!'

Billy: 'Why? Who cares?'

Charlie: 'We saw him!'

Billy: 'So? It ain't nothing to us. The kid's dead, so it ain't nothing to him, neither. And who gives a shit if they ever find him? I don't!'

Charlie: 'It was that kid they were talkin' about on the radio-Brocker or Brower or Flowersm whatever his name is. The train must've hit him.'

Billy: 'So what if it fuckin' did?'

Charlie: 'I think we should tell the cops.'

Billy: 'You don't go squawkin' to the cops after you boosted a car, you idiot! They're gonna wanna know how the hell we got way out on Back Harlow Road. Now they _know _we don't got no car. It's best we just keep our mouths shut, then they can't touch us.'

Charlie: 'Look, we could...we could make an anonymous call.'

Billy: 'They trace those calls, stupid! I seen it on Highway Patrol and on Dragnet.'

Charlie: 'Alright, I just wished we never boosted that goddamn Dodge! I wish Ace had been with us. He could've told the cops we was in _his _car.'

Billy: 'Well, he wasn't.'

Charlie: 'We gonna tell him?'

Billy: 'We ain't gonna tell _nobody. _Nobody never. You dig me?'

"Holy hell!"I cried.

"I know the Back Harlow Road! It comes to a dead end by the Royal River. The train tracks are _right there. _Me and my dad used to fish for cossies out there!" Teddy yelled.

"Jesus Christ, man. If they would have known you were under there, they would've killed you!" Chris said.

"Could he have gotten all the way from Chamberlain to Harlow?" Gordie asked. "That's really far."

"Why not?" I said.

"Sure. He must have started walking on the train tracks and just followed them the whole way," Chris suggested.

"Yeah. Yeah, right. And then after dark, the train must have come along..." Teddy slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand. "el smacko!"

"Yeah..." I said, frowning, just thinking about that poor kid.

"Hey, you guys, I bet you anything that if we find him, we'll get our pictures in the paper!" Chris said.

"Yeah, yeah. We could even be on TV!" Teddy yelled.

"You think so?" I asked.

"Sure!" Chris shouted.

"We'll be heroes!"

"Yeah!" I sighed. Chris, why must you encourage him?

"I don't know. Billy will know I found out," Vern said, nervously.

"He's not gonna care, cause it's gonna be us guys-"

"A-_HEM!_" I yelled, and Gordie smirked.

"Sorry. It'll be us that find him, not Billy and Charlie Hogan ina boosted car. They'll probably pin a medal on you, Vern."

"Yeah, you think so?" Vern cried, excitedly.

"Sure!"

"What'll we tell our folks?"

"Exactly what you said. We'll all tell our folks we're tentin out in your back field. You tell your folks you're sleeping over at Teddy's. Then we say we're goin' over to the drag races the next day. We're rock solid 'til dinner tomorrow night."

"Man, that's a plan-and-a-half!" Chris cried, and gave Gordie some skin.

"But if we do find the kid's body over in South Harlow, they'll _know _we didn't go to the drag races. We'll get hided!" Vern moaned.

"Nobody will care! Cuz everybody's gonna be so jazzed about what we found, it's not gonna make a difference!" Teddy said.

"Yeah! My dad'll hide me, anyway. But hell, it's worth a hiding!" Chris yelled.

"Shit, yeah!"

"Let's do it! Whaddaya say?" Chris asked.

"Alright!" Teddy cried.

"Gordie?"

"Sure," Gordie said, shrugging.

"Willow?"

"I'm in," I said.

"Vern?"

"I don't know..." Vern murmured.

"Vern!" Chris moaned.

"Come on, Vern-o!" Teddy cried.

"VERN! Come on, Vern-o!" they both yelled as Chris got Vern in a headlock and Teddy pinched his cheeks.

"OK, alright," Vern said, and Chris and Teddy let him go.

"Yeah, cool. Very cool. Very, very cool. YES!" Teddy shouted, excitedly.

"Hey, Mom, can I camp out in Vern Tessio's back field tonight?"I asked and Paige (who is now eleven) looked up.

"Sure. I need you out of the house, anyway. Paige, do you have any plans for tonight?" my mom trailed off.

"Hey, uh, we were also gonna maybe check out the drag races the next day. Is that OK?"

"Yes. Wait a minute, is anyone else gonna be there?" I smirked and rolled my eyes. Me and Vern? Yeah, right.

"Yeah. Gordie, Chris, and Teddy."

"Oh, well, I suppose that's okay..." she trailed off again.

"Jesus, Wil, don't you have any girl friends?" Paige asked, and I rolled my eyes. I ran up the stairs to go pack and shot over my shoulder,

"Who needs 'em?"


	3. Storytelling

"Ohhh yeahhhh!" Paige cried. We were now all sitting in a circle on the floor with the lights off and I had a flashlight held up to my face. "I remember that! Mom wanted to bring a guy home-ughh-and you went to camp out in Vern's back field and then Mom made me go to Valerie's!"

"Yeah. Good, Paige. So then-" I started, but Paige cut me off.

"But you _weren't _camping out in Vern's back field! You were heading out to the woods with the guys to go see a dead body!" Paige yelled, and she sounded a little angry.

"Don't forget me," Maddie piped up. "I went, too."

"Yeah, you did. Which brings me to the next part in my story..."


	4. Maddie's Coming

I exited my house and saw Teddy walking down the street (we lived really close, like really, _really _close. He was my next-door neighbor) carrying a sleeping bag almost identical to mine.

"Hey, Teddy, wait up!" I yelled and started to run after him. He glanced back at me.

"Hey, Wil," he said when I caught up to him.

"Hey," I said, panting. "Are we gonna pick up Vern-o on the way?"

"That was the plan."

"Cool." We walked in silence for a while when the tip of my show hit a crack in the sidewalk and I went sprawling forward. I could hear Teddy laughing: eeee-eee-eeeee!

"Real smooth, Wil, real smooth." I giggled and blushed and then sat up.

"Here," he said and extended his hand. I took it and scrambled to my feet., dusting myself off.

We picked up Vern on the way-jus like we said-and hiked our way to the treehouse.

"Are Chris and Gordie there yet?" Teddy asked, squinting. "I can't tell."

"Yea-" I started, and then Vern and I groaned.

"What?" Teddy yelled.

"Maddie's there, too," I moaned and this time we all groaned.

Maddie Faulkner had just moved to Castle Rock. She was a cheerleader and Chris's new girlfriend. She also annoyed the hell out of all the rest of us.

As we got closer, we could hear their conversation. Chris and Maddie were arguing and Gordie was leaning up against the tree, looking out of place.

"Why didn't you invite me?" Maddie whined.

"I didn't think you would want to go out in the smelly woods to go look for a dead kid!" Chris protested, and I moaned.

"He told her?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Cuz you seem like more of an indoor girl!"

"Well...I am, but still!"

"And besides, I also didn't think that you liked my friends!" At that moment, Vern, Teddy, and I walked up to the treehouse and Maddie froze.

"That's SOOOO not true! I L-O-V-E these guys!" Maddie squealed, and Teddy and I smirked at each other. "I wanna gooo with you guys! It'll be fuuuuun! Puh-leez, Chris?" Chris sighed.

"OK, fine."

"Well, now I don't wanna go," Teddy said and Maddie glared at him.

"Come on, it will still be fun," Chris said, and I sighed.

"Whatever. Let's go."


	5. Food Malfunctions

We started our descent to the Back Harlow Road, and were walking on the train tracks. Chris was telling Teddy, Vern, and me about the gun.

"...it's spooky sleeping out at night in the woods. You might see a bear-or a garbage can." We all laughed, except Gordie.

"I brought a comb," Vern chirped and I giggled.

"What do we need a comb for?" Chris asked.

"Well, if we get on TV, we wanna look good, don't we?"

"That's a lot of thinking, Vern," Gordie said.

"Thanks!"

Teddy balled his hand into a fist and flung it at Vern's face, and Vern went stumbling backwards.

"Two for flinching," Teddy said and punched Vern twice on the arm, and then all six of us stared ahead at the train tracks leading out of town.

"How far do you think it's gonna be?"

"If we follow the tracks all the way into Harlow, should be about twenty miles. Sound about right to you Gordie?" Chris guessed and I heard Maddie moan under her breath,

"Twenty miles?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it might even be thirty," Gordie said.

"Gee, maybe we should just hitchhike," Vern suggested.

"No way, that sucks!" Teddy cried.

"Why not? We could go out to Route 7 to the Shiloh church, then down the Back Harlow Road. We'll be there by sundown."

"That's pussy!" Teddy yelled as we started walking along the tracks.

"Hey, it's a long ways," Vern said.

"Did your mother ever have any kids that lived?"

"What do you mean?"

The guys went on ahead of me and Maddie walked alongside me.

"It's Willow, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Maddie."

"Yeah, I know. We've met like, 7 times."

"Oh. Right. I must've forgotten."

"Yeah." We were quiet for a while, and the guys started singing:

""Have Gun, Will Travel" reads the cards of a man. A knight without armor..."

"...in a savage land," I started singing along with them and suddenly wished I had my guitar. "His fast gun for hire heeds the calling wind. A soldier of fortune is the man called Paladin..." We all trailed off and Maddie was staring at me.

"Why do you hang out with them?" she asked, suddenly. "I mean, don;t you have any friends that are girls?"

"No way."

"Why not?" I shrugged and kicked up dirt with my sneakers.

"I don't like them and they don't like me."

"Oh."

Suddenly, the guys stopped and I picked up the pace to catch up with them.

"...what are we supposed to do, eat our feet?" Teddy moaned, and I frowned.

"What's the problem?"

"Nobody brought any food," Chris explained. "Did you?"

"Yeah, hold on," I said, and dug into my sleeping bag, pulling out acanteen of waterand two candy bars.

"That's all you brought?" Vern cried and I glared at him.

"It's more than you brought!"

"You see? This is the difference between boys and girls," Maddie said and pulled a sack lunch out of her bag.

"How much you got in there, Maddie?" Chris asked and she peeked inside.

"A sandwich, a canteen of water, a bag of chips, and a brownie."

"Well, that could work. If we split everything up into portions," I said.

"No way!" Maddie protested.

"Come on, Maddie, what are we supposed to do, starve?" Chris asked, and she groaned and dumped her lunch out.

"FINE!"

Maddie took the sandwich, Gordie the chips, and Chris the brownie,

"Well, what about us?" Vern moaned and I handed hiim and Teddy a candy bar.

"What about you, Wil?" Teddy asked, and I shrugged, taking a gulp out of my canteen.

"I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" Vern asked, but he was already almost done with his candy bar.

"Yeah."

"Here," Teddy said, holding out half of his candy bar. "Ain't nobody gonna starve here."I blushed and took the hunk of chocolate.

"Thanks."

When everyone was just about done, Vern brought up dinner.

"Oh shit, I don't suppose you got any more candy bars, Wil?" Chris asked and I shook my head.

"Nope. Sorry. I made the foolish mistake of thinking that you idiots would remember to bring your own food."

"Well, now what are we gonna do?" Maddie moaned. "I don't have any more food, either. Maybe we should just go back."

Something tells me that Maddie doesn't really wanna see a dead body.

"No, no, let's just see how much money we got," Gordie said and we got into a tight circle.

"I got a dollar and two cents. Sixty-eight cents from Chris, sixty cents from Teddy. Forty-two cents from Willow and fifty cents from Maddie," Gordie said, counting up the money. "Seven cents, Vern?"

"I haven't found my pennies yet!"he whined.

"Well, three-twenty-nine's not bad. Quidaciolio's is at the end of that little road that goes by the junkyard. I think we can get some stuff there," Gordie said.

"Train's comin'," Chris announced and we all scrambled off the tracks. Except for Teddy.


	6. The Junkyard

"Come on, Teddy!" Chris called as Teddy stared straight ahead at the triain.

"No. Uh-uh. I'm gonna dodge it," Teddy said, throwing his sleeping bag off to the side.  
>"TEDDY, GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!" I screamed. "YOU'RE INSANE!"<p>

"Come on, Teddy, man. Willow's right," Chris said.

"You're crazy!" Maddie yelled.

"Train dodge. Dig it," Teddy said, smirking.

"Get the hell off the tracks, Teddy! You wanna get yourself killed?" Chris yelled.

"Just like the beach at Normandy," Teddy shouted and began immitating a machine gun.

I could imagine the train coming at full speed, and Teddy trying to throw himself out of the way, but being a few seconds too late. I could imagine the train spitting out his lifeless, mutilated body onto the side of the road.

Just like Ray Brower. Maybe someday a group of kids would go out hunting for Teddy's body.

"CHRIS!" I shrieked. "DO SOMETHING!" As if on cue, Chris sprinted forward and dragged Teddy off the tracks, kicking and screaming.

"No! You asshole! Son of a bitch!" Teddy screamed and Vern tried to hold him back. I had to wrap my arms around Teddy's torso: Vern wouldn't be strong enough without my help.

"I'm just trying to save your life, man! You wanna kill yourself? You're trying to kill yourself!" Chris yelled, angrily. Teddy glared at him for a minute before hissing,

"I don't need no babysitter."

"You do, too," Chris replied and then held out his hand. "Skin it."

"I could've dodged it..." Teddy murmured and broke free from my grasp to go collect his stuff. Chris followed him to make peace.

"Damn, he's crazy..." Maddie said to me and I tensed up.

"Shut up, Maddie," I snapped before following the guys.

"I don't know why you like him," Maddie said, scurrying after me.

"What?"

"You totally loooove him," she sang and I could feel myself getting red.

"Shut up, I do not."

"Do too."

"DO NOT!" I yelled before running to catch up with the guys.

***

We approached the fence to the junkyard and peered inside.

"Hey, Vern, looks like your ma's been out driving again," Gordie said.

"Oh, that's so funny I forgot to laugh."

"Stand back, men!" Teddy yelled, throwing his sleeping bag over the fence and making a "Pow!" noise when it hit the ground. "Paratroopers over the side!"

Teddy climbed the fence and the rest of us followed suit.

"Willow, can you throw mine over for me?" Maddie asked.

"Why don't you get Chris to do it?"

"He's already on the other side. Come on, please?"

I did as she asked and we climbed the fence; Maddie took forever. Gordie and Chris took off running towards Teddy and Vern at the water pump.

"You never answered my question, you know," Maddie said as we began walking towards them. "Why do you hang out with them?"

"Cuz they're awesome,"I said, smirking and she rolled her eyes.

"No, really."

"I don't know. I met them when I was like, 4 and by the time I realized they're idiotic wet ends, they were my best friends."

"Oh."

"Hey! Hurry it up, ladies!" Teddy screamed. "You guys need us to chew your food for you, too?" I gave him the finger, but picked up the pace, anyways.

"Hey, where's the bathroom?" Maddie asked.

"Squat behind a car. Any car," Chris said, laughing and Maddie wrinkled up her nose in disgust.

"Eww! No way!"

"Hey, you gotta go or not?" Gordie asked and Maddie stomped away. I picked up a rock and threw it in a small can sitting ahead of us, and it went straight in.

"Hey, have you guys been watching the 'Mickey Mouse Club ' lately?" Teddy asked, throwing a rock into the can, too. Soon, they were all doing it.

"Yeah," we all said.

"I think Annette's tits are getting bigger."

"Think so?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Yeah, I think he's right. I've been noticing lately that the 'A' and the 'E' are starting to bend around the sides," Gordie said and they all laughed. I giggled along with them.

"How would you guys noitice that? Oh wait, I forgot, it's a man's nature to be a creepy pervert," I joked, grinning.

"Yeah, and you're not doing so bad yourself, Wil," Teddy said and I blushed.

"Shut up before I beat the crap outta you!"

I glanced down at my outfit: a white spaghetti strap and worn-out jeans and I found myself blushing again.

"I think you embarrassed her, Teddy!" Chris said, and I giggled and blushed again.

"This is really a good time," Vern said.

"The most," Chris said.

"A blast," Teddy agreed.

"A great way to end summer with a bang," I stated and they nodded.

They started trying to spit water into the can, and I joined, wasting almost all my water. I would have to refill it again.

Teddy turned and spit his water at Vern and the rest of us burst into laughter. I laughed until I couldn't breathe.

"Great! Spit at the fat kid. Real good!" Vern groaned, wiping his face.

"This has been the most fun all day," I said, and then sighed. "Man, Chris, why'd you have to invite Maddie?"

"Come on, she's not so bad," Chris said.

"Yeah, but you guys don't have to hang out with her all day!" I groaned, and they all laughed at me.

"Sucks to be you!" Gordie yelled and I spit water at him, but he dodged it.

"Come on Wil, justgive her a chance," Chris pleaded. "I did, and look where it got me? She's really cool once you get to know her."

"Whatever, Chris, fine."

"What time is it, Gordie?" Vern asked, and Gordie looked at his watch.

"Umm...it's quarter after 1:00."

"We better go get the food. The junkyard opens at 3:00. Chopper will be here."

"Ooh, sic balls!" Chris mocked and I laughed.

"I'm sure glad I don't have balls," I said and shuddered, and they all snickered.

"You go get the food, Vern-o," Teddy said, suddenly. "You can pick us up on the way back."

"I'm not going alone. We should all go!"

"I'm staying right here," Teddy said, shaking his head and laughing.

"Yeah, man, I'm not goin'. I'm not goin' all the way out there," Gordie agreed.

"Girls, girls, girls, cool it. We'll flip for it," Chris said, and they all dug in their pockets for coins.

"Okay. Odd man goes?" Gordie gussed.

"That's you, Gordie. Odd as a cod," Teddy said.

The reason I didn't have to flip was that all five of us had silently agreed a long time ago that I got the advantage because I was a girl. I was perfectly capable of protecting myself, but they didn't seem to think so. But I don't mind, really.

They all flipped and all got tails.

"Four tails! Oh, Jesus, man, that's a goocher!" Vern cried, and all the rest of us groaned.

"Come on, Vern! That doesn't mean anything! Let's go again!" Chris said.

"No, man, No, man. A goocher-that's really bad! You remember when Clint Bracken and those guys got wiped out on Weed Hill in Durham? Billy told me they was flipping for beers and they came up with a goocher right before they got in the car, and BANG! They all got totaled! I don't like this. Sincerely."

"Vern-o! Nobody believes that crap about moons and goochrs, it's BABY stuff! Now come on, flip again," Teddy said and the 3 other boys flipped again, except Vern. "You gonna flip or not?" Vern sighed and finally flipped.

"You lose, Gordie!" Teddy cried, and laughed: eeee-eee-eeeee! "Gordie loses! Ol' Gordie just screwed the pooch!"

"Does the word retarded mean anything to you?" Gordie asked as he scrambled to his feet.

"Gordie, go get the provisions, you morphodite!" Teddy shot back, and I giggled.

"Nice grammar, Teddy."

"Don't call me any of your mother's pet names," Gordie said.

"What a wet end you are, Lachance!"

"Shut up!"

We all jumped right in on that one. "I don't shut up, I grow up! And when I look at you, I throw up! BLACH!"

"And then your mother goes around the corner and she licks it up," Gordie said and started walking away.

"Oooohh!" we all yelled, and I tried to spit water into the can while Teddy, Vern, and Chris all wrestled on the ground.


	7. Milo Pressman & Chopper

Maddie came back from the bathroom seconds after Gordie left.

"Jeez, Maddie, what took you so long?" Chris asked, wrapping his arm around her as she sat down next to him.

"Someone had to take a dump," I said and Teddy, Vern, and me all cracked up.

"Oh man, Wil, that was good!" Teddy cried, clutching his stomach whil he laughed.

"NOT funny!" Maddie snapped. "And _no,_ I did _not_ take a dump. Unlike _you, _Willow, I'm a lady."

"What? Ladies don't take dumps anymore?" I asked, and we all started laughing again-even Chris.

"Hmmph!" she snorted, crossing her arms over her chest while we all laughed.

"Hey, you guys, we should play a game," I said. "Like Truth or Dare or Spin the Bottle."

"Those games are stupid!" Teddy moaned.

"No, actually Spin the Bottle sounds fun," Chris said, and Maddie nodded. Ughh...gross.

I grabbed an empty Coke bottle from a pile of garbage and we all got in a circle.

"OK, Maddie, you go first,"I said, and she spun the bottle. It landed on Vern.

"Eww!" Maddie yelled, and Teddy and I laughed.

"You have to, Maddie," Chris said, smirking and Maddie frowned. She leaned acrossChris and gave Vern a quick peck on the lips.

"OK. Vern's turn." Vern spun the bottle and it landed on Maddie.

"HA!" I yelled, cackling away while Maddie and Vern kissed again.

Maddie spun the bottle again and this time it landed on Chris.

"FINALLY!" she squealed and kissed her boyfriend. Then Chris spun it and it landed on me.

"Ooh, Maddie, you'd better watch out!" Vern yelled as Chris leaned over and kissed me. Then I spun. Around and around it went.

Me, Maddie, Chris, Vern, Teddy, me, Maddie, Chris, Vern...Teddy. I looked over at him and I could feel myself blushing.

"Well, are we gonna do this or not?" Teddy yelled and I blushed again; I leaned up and kissed him. When I leaned back, I was as red as cherry.

"OK, now Teddy, you go."

We played a little longer after that, and everybody ended up kissing everybody. Maddie was just about to spin again when she froze.

"Do you hear a car?" We all listened. I could hear the soft rumbling of a car's engine getting closer and closer.

"Shit!" I whispered. "It's Milo Pressman!"

"And Chopper!" Vern said, gulping. We all scrambled to get our stuff together and took off at a dead run towards the chain-link fence.

My heart pumped in my chest and I kept thinking, "Chopper! Sic balls! Sic hand! Sic ear!" I shuddered. Yikes.

We hoisted our bags over the fence and I heard a car door slam. We climbed the fence and I collapsed onto the ground, giggling just as Milo Pressman was stomping around the junkyard, yelling and cursing.


	8. Interruptions

Paige stared at me, her eyes wide. "You guys went into the _junkyard?_ You saw Chopper? Is he a vicious, kid-eating monster like everyone says he is?" I had her now.

"You'll just have to wait and see. Now hush, and let me finish the story."

"Why didn't you guys ask me to go with you?" Paige pouted. "Cuz it sounds like a lot of fun."

"It was. And we didn't want you to come, cuz you're annoying. Now will you _please_ let me finish the goddamn story?"

"Right. Sorry."


	9. Insulting Teddy's Dad

I picked myself up off the dirt ground when I heard Milo start screaming: "Hey! Hey you, kid! What're you doing here? Come over here! You! You!" I looked up and saw Gordie sprinting towards the fence.

"COME BACK HERE! COME BACK HERE, GODDAMN IT! I'LL SIC MY DOG ON YOU!" Milo screamed, running after Gordie with Chopper on his heels.

"Run!" we all screamed. "Run, Gordie, run!"

Gordie screamed and launched himself at the fence, and collapsed on the other side.

"_That's_ Chopper?" Gordie cried as we sawa friendly golden retriever pawing at the fence.

"Kiss my ass, Choppie! Kiss my ass!" Teddy yelled, rubbing his butt up against the fence. "Bite shit! Come on, Choppie! Bite shit!"

"Hey, you kids! Stop teasing that dog! You hear me? Stop teasin' him!" Milo shouted, running up to the fence. "Sonny, I'm gnna beat your ass, teasing my dog like that."

"Yeah, I'd like to see you try to climb over this fence and get me, fatass!" Teddy shrieked and sent us all into fits of laughter.

"Don't you call me that, you little tin-weasel peckerwood loony's son!" Milo snarled and Teddy froze.

"What did you call me?"

Oh shit. Everybody stopped laughing immediately and just stared.

"I know who you are. You're Teddy Duchamp. Your dad's a loony, a loony up in the nuthouse up in Togus. Hetook your ear, and he put it to a stove, and he burnt it off!" I winced. I hated it when people talked about that, and it hadn't even happened to me.

"My father stormed the beach in Normandy," Teddy said, numbly.

"He's crazier thana shithouse rat! No wonder you're acting the way you are, with a loony for a father."

"You call my dad a loony again and I'll kill you."

"Loony, loony, loony," Milo mocked and Teddy mocked and Teddy screamed and jumped at the fence.

"I'M GONNA RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND SHIT DOWN YOUR NECK!" I jumped forward with all of the rest of the guys, dragging Teddy off the fence and holding him back while Maddie stared.

"I'm gonna kill him!" Teddy cried.

"You come on and try it, you little slimy bastard!" Milo snapped.

"He wants you to go over there so he can beat the piss out of you and then take you to the cops," Chris said.

"You watch your mouth, smart guy. Let him do his own fighting," Milo yelled.

"Sure, you only outweigh him by five-hundred pounds, fatass!" Gordie shot back.

"Yeah!" I screamed. "What would your mom say if she knew you were picking fights with kids half your age?"

"I know your name! You're Willow Burroughs! I know _all_ of you and all your parents are gonna get a call from me. Except for the loony up in Togus." Teddy screamed and broke free from our grip, charging for the fence again, but we quickly restrained him once more and dragged him away.

"I'm gonna kill you! Son of a bitch!" Teddy cried, and started sobbing as we got farther away from the junkyard. "Nobody ranks out my old man! My father stormed the beach in Normandy! He stormed the beach, you faggot!"

I could hear Milo screaming after us, but didn't pay attention to what he was saying. We all just silently kept walking along. Chris and I both had our arms around Teddy.

"We showed him we're not just a bunch of pussies," Vern said, cheerily.

"He ranked my old man," Teddy murmured, his chest heaving with sobs. "He ranked my old man."

"What do you care what a fat pile of shit like him says about your dad?" Chris asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, Teddy. Who cares what he thinks?"

"He still stormed the beach in Normandy, right?" Gordie added.

"Just forget it," Teddy muttered, shaking his head and wiping his eyes.

"You think that pile of shit was in Normndy?" Vern asked.

"Forget it, alright?"

"He don't know nothing about your old man."

"Whatever it is between you and your old man-he can't change that!" Chris cried.

"Forget it, alright? Just forget it!" Teddy yelled, taking everyone by surprise. Chris removed his arm from Teddy's shoulder, but I kept mine there.

"'Have Gun Will Travel' reads the cards of a man.A knight without armor in a savage land..." Vern started singing, but we all just stared at him.

Teddy stopped suddenly. "I'm sorry if I'm spoiling everybody's good time."

"It's okay, man. It's okay," Chris said.

"Yeah, it's o big deal," I agreed.

"I'm not sure it _should_ be a good time," Gordie said.

"You saying you wanna go back?" Chris asked.

"No, but gong to see a dead kid...maybe it shouldn't be a party."

"Yeah! Like if he's really bad, like all cut up and blood and shit all over him! I might have nightmares," Vern said and the rest of us just shook our heads and started walking again.

"You know, like all guts and eyeballs all ready to jump and grab-"

"Shut up, Vern, goddamn it!" Chris cried, and Vern followed us.

"I can't help it. Sorry."

We continued to walk, and Teddy and I lagged behind.

"You okay?" I asked and he nodded, putting his glasses back on.

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." We were quiet for a while.

"I'm sorry what he said about your dad," I murmured.

"Just forget it. It's just-never mind, forget it."

"Okay..." I said, frowning. I wouldn't get much else out of him. At least not now, anyways.


	10. TRAIN!

"Hey! We're back here with the Bossman, Bob Cormier! From the racks and stacks, it's the best on wax! It's the Chordettes, with Lollipop!" Bob Cormier shouted from the radio, and "Lollipop" came on. Up ahead of us, Teddy and Vern started to dance to it (sorta) and I could hear Chris and Gordie arguing behind us.

"I wish Chris would walk with _me_," Maddie moaned and I rolled my eyes.

"This trip was about his friends. _You_ were the one that wanted to tag along. He's not gonna go out of his way to entertain you every second of the day," I said.

"Why don't you like me?" Maddie asked, suddenly.

"You're annoying." You could call me a lot of things, but I wasn't a liar.

"Oh." She seemed depressed, but then suddenly she perked right up again. "I just loooove Chris. I hope I never see him cry like Teddy did. He's _all_ man." I balled my hand into a fist and had to count to 10 seven times to keep from punching her in the face.

"Then go talk to _him_ and leave me alone!" I snapped, and walked faster to get away from her. I quickly caught up to Teddy and Vern, who had stopped.

"Come on, you guys! Let's get moving," Vern yelled.

"Yeah! By the time we get there, the kid won't even be dead anymore!" Teddy shouted and Chris, Gordie, and Maddie walked faster.

***

"I hate Maddie, I hate her so much!" I moaned to Teddy and Vern as we walked together, the other three lagging behind (again).

"What did she do this time?" Teddy asked.

"Nothing important," I lied, and continued complaining. "but I wish she would just move back to SlutVile and get the hell out of my life." Teddy and Vern snickered, and I couldn't help but laugh along with them.

We approached a long railroad stretching across the river, and all six of us just stared.

"Any of you guys know when the nest train is due?" Vern asked.

"We _could_ go down to the Route 136 Bridge," Chris suggested.

"What? Are you crazy? That's five miles down the river. You walk five miles down the river, you gotta walk five miles back. That could take 'til dawn. If we go across here, we can get to the same place in ten minutes," Teddy protested.

"Yeah, but if a train coms, there's nowhere to go," Vern argued.

"The hell there isn't. We'll just jump."

"Teddy, it's a hundred feet," Chris said.

"Yeah, it's too dangerous," Maddie agreed.

"Look. I'm crossing here. And while you guys are dragging your candy asses halfway across the state and back, I'll be waiting for you on the other side, relaxing with my thoughts," Teddy said and started forward.

"Oh yeah, you use your left hand or your right hand for that?" Gordie asked and Teddy looked back to smirk at him.

"You. Wish."

I followed Teddy out onto the tracks, followed by Chris, then Maddie, then Vern and Gordie.

We were all silent, just concentrating on putting your foot on the next plank, praying for it to not snap from underneath you.

"Hold on, you guy," Maddie said and we all looked back to see Vern with his head between the cracks, looking down at the water.

"What the hell is he doing?" I asked.

"I think he lost the comb," Maddie said and we all rolled our eyes and kept walking.

_Right, left, right, left, right, le-_

"TRAIN!" All five of us whipped around to look at Gordie. And sure enough, there was a train heading towards us at full speed.

Maddie let out a bloodcurdling scream and Chris grabbed her hand.

"GO! RUN!" he screamed at us and Teddy and I hauled ass.

I ran faster than I had ever run before and just as I thought we would make it, I heard a splintering crack and I plunged downward.

One of the planks beneath me had snapped, and my foot had plunged through. Chris and Maddie tripped over me, and I screamed and covered my head.

"Teddy! Help me!" I yelped, and he reached out his hand. I took it and he yanked me to my feet while Chris and Maddie scrambled to theirs. Teddy dragged me by the hand off the tracks and to the side of the road, and Chris did the same for Maddie.

"RUN!" we screamed at Gordie and Vern, who were still running along the tracks.

"RUN! GO! YOU'D BETTER HAUL ASS, MAN!" I shrieked, and Gordie grabbed Vern and they leaped off to the side of the road, just as the train went roaring by I gulped.

If they had waited a few more seconds, the train would have run their asses over.

We raced across the tracks to look down on them after the train went by.

"Hey. At least now we know when the next train was due," Chris said.


	11. LardAss Hogan

We were gathered around the campfire with hamburgers on sticks.

"Hey, Teddy, you finally got to dodge a train," I said, and he nodded.

"Man, that was the all-time train dodge! Too cool. Vern, you was so scared you looked like that fat guy, Abbott Costello when he saw the mummy," Teddy cried, laughing.

"I wasn't _that_ scared!" Vern protested and we all moaned,

"VEEERNN!"

"No! Really, I wasn't. Sincerely!"

"Okay, then you won't mind if we check the seat of your Jockeys for Hershey squirts, will you?" Gordie asked and we all laughed.

"Go screw."

"Hey, Vern, you'd better turn yours over," Chris said, eyeing Vern's hamburger.

"This is the way I like to do it!"

"Fine."

Vern's hamburger slipped from the stick and fell into the fire, and the rest of us roared in laughter.

"Aw, man! You got any more, Gordie?" Vern moaned.

"Sorry, Vern!" Gordie said, laughing.

"It's not funny! What am I supposed to eat?"

"Why don't you cook your dick?" Teddy asked.

"It'd be a small meal!" Chris yelled.

"Ha! Screw you guys, I got it!" Vern yelled, retrieving his hamburger from the fire. We talked and laughed like that for a little while longer until we had finished the hamburgers.

We all sat around the campfire and smoked, except for Maddie, who sat away from us to avoid 'secondhand smoke' or something like that.

"Nothing like a smoke after a meal," Vern said.

"Yeah. You can say that," I agreed, taking a drag on my cigarette.

"Yeah. I cherish these moments," Teddy said and I giggled along with Chris and Gordie. "What? What'd I say?"

We just shook our heads, laughing to ourselves.

"Hey. Gord-o, why don't you tell usa story?" Chris asked, suddenly and Maddie crawled back over by us at the mention of a story.

"Eh, I don't know."

"Oh, come on!"

"Yeah, come on, Gord-o!" Vern cried. "But not one of your horror stories, okay? I don't wanna hear no horror stories. I'm not up for that, man."

"Why don't you tell us about Sergaent Steele and his battling leathernecks?" Teddy asked.

"Well, the one I've been thinking about is kinda different. It's about this pie-eating contest, and the main guy of the story is a fat kid that nobody likes, named Davie Hogan."

"Like Charlie Hogan's brother! If he had one!" Vern cried, cheerfully.

"Good, Vern," Chris said, sarcastically and then turned to Gordie again. "Go on, Gordie."

"Well, this kid, he's our age, but he's fat. Real fat. He weighs close to 180. But you know, it's not his fault. It's his glands."

"Oh yeah! My cousin's like that," Vern said, interrupting again. "Sincerely. She weighs over 300 pounds. Supposed to be a Hyboid gland or something. Well, I don't know about any hyboid glands, but what a blimp! No shit. She looks like a Thanksgiving turkey. And you know, this one time-"

"Will you shut up, Vern?" Chris snapped.

"Yeah, yeah, right. Go on, Gordie. It's a swell story."

"Well, all the kids, instead of calling him Davie, they call him Lard-Ass. At school, they put this sticker on his back that says "WIDE LOAD" and they rank him out and beat him up whenever they get the chance. But one day, he gets an idea. The greatest revenge idea a kid ever had.

Well, Lard-Ass decided to enter this pie-eating contest, you know? He's up against his own principal, and Bob Cormier, the Bossman. And also up against Bill Travis, the town I forgot to tell you-they had to eat the pies with their hands tied behind their backs.

So, the mayor yells, 'GO!' once everyone's in their seats and they dig in. And Lard-Ass is _way_ ahead of everyone else-even Bill Travis-and finishes his first pie, _whole_ pie in a matter of seconds. Two, three, four pies he eats and Bill Travis is still on his second. So the audience sees that Lard-Ass is probably gonna win, they start cheering his name, you know? 'LARD-ASS! LARD-ASS!'

What the audience didn't know was that Lard-Ass wasn't really interested in winning. What he wanted was revenge, and right before he was introduced hed gotten ready for it. He drank a full bottle of Castor Oil and ate an egg raw.

Diving into his fifth pie, Lard-Ass began to imagine that he wasn't eating pies. He pretended he was eating cow-flops and rat fuys and in blueberry sauce.

Slowly, a sound started to build in Lard-Ass's stomach. A strange and scary sound, like a log truck coming at you a hundred-miles-an-hour. Suddenly, Lard-Ass opened his mouth, and before Bill Travis knew it, he was covered with five pies worth of blueberries. The women in the audience screamed. Bossman Bob Cormier took one look at Bill Travis and barfed on the lumberjack that was sitting next to him. Mayor Grundy barfed on his wife's tits. But when the smell hit the _crowd._

That's when Lard-Ass's plan really started to work. Girlfriends barfed on boyfriends. Kids barfed on their parents. A fat lady barfed in her purse. The Donnelly twins barfed on each other, and the Women's Auxiliry barfed all over the Benevolent Order of Antelopes. And Lard-Ass just sat back and watched what he had created. A complete and total barf-o-rama!"

"WOOO!" I screamed and cheered along with the guys, but Maddie just looked disgusted.

"GUH-ROSS! What kind of bed time story _was_ that?"

Ignoring her, Chris said, "Oh man, that was the best. Just the best!"

"Yeah," Vern and I said.

"Then what happened?" Teddy asked.

"What do you mean?" Gordie asked.

"I mean, _what happened?_"

"What do you mean 'what happened'? That's the end!"


	12. Bad Memories

"I don't know what the hell Teddy is thinking. I liked the ending," Paige said, and I glared at her.

"Shut up, bitch, and stop interrupting me!" I yelled, annoyingly.

"Jeez, what's your problem, Wil?" Maddie asked, who was now flipping through a magazine.

"I'm trying to get through the story, and your interruptions aren't helping!" I cried. I stared up at the big full moon, lighting up the entire treehouse with its earthly glow. The silver beams of light bounced off the walls, casting away every shadow with it's glow. Millions and millions of stars shimmered in th sky, lighting up the night.

Suddenly, another memory popped up into my head, one that I tried to lock away in the barriers of my mind.

_I was eight years old, and Paige was seven. We were inside our house, eating chips and watching the news when my mother walked in he door in her slutty outfit._

_"Hello, girls!" she called, placing her purse on the table. We barely even looked up._

_Suddenly, screaming pierced the house and I practically shitted my pants._

_"WHAT WAS THAT?" Paige shrieked._

_"Was that Teddy?" my mom yelled, and bolted out of the house. Paige and I got up and peered out the window at my mother who was sprinting next door, to the Duchamp house._

_She walked inside and in a matter of seconds, came darting back out, looking terrified._

_"Willow! Paige! Get inside! _NOW!_" she shrieked, running inside and shoving us to the ground. She locked all the doors and called the police in a matter of seconds._

_Her words were jumbled, but I heard something about Teddy, a stove, his ears, his dad, and a shotgun. The ambulance arrived and wheeled Teddy out on a stretcher. I thought I was gonna be sick._

For a long time after that, I would look at his ears and get that sick knot in my stomach. I still do, sometimes.

"Helloooo? Earth to Willow!" Paige yelled, waving a hand in front of my face.

"What? Huh? Sorry. I space out like that sometimes."

"So, what happens next? How did Gordie end the story?" Paige asked.

"Okay, okay."


	13. Late Night Talks

"How can that be the end? What kind of an ending is that? What happened to Lard-Ass?" Teddy complained.

"I don't know. Maybe he went home and celebrated with a couple of cheeseburgers," Gordie said.

"Jeez, that ending sucks. Why don't you make it so that Lard-Ass goes home and shots his father, and then he runs away and he joins the Texas Rangers! How about that?"

"Eh. I don't know."

"Something good like that!"

"I like the ending. The barfing was really good, but there's one thing I didn't understand. Did Lard-Ass have to pay to get into the contet?" Vern asked.

"No, Vern, they just let him in," Gordie said, sarcastically.

"Oh! Oh! Great! Great story!"

"Yeah, it's a great story, Gordie. I just didn't like the ending," Teddy said.

"Hey, don't listen to these wet ends, Gordie. It ws an awesome story. I'll have to tell that one to Paige when I get home," I said,

"It was GROSS!" Maddie wailed.

"Hey, Vern-o, where's the radio? Lt's se if we can get some sounds," Chris said and Vern handed it to him.

We talked about the pointless things that I love talking about with these guys.

Gordie: 'Alright, alright. Mickey's a mouse, Donald's a duck, and Pluto's a dog. What's Goofy?'

Vern: 'If I could have one food for the rest of my life? That's easy. Pez. Cherry-flavored Pez. No question about it.'

Teddy: 'Goofy's a dog. He's definitely a dog.'

Gordie: 'I knew the $64,000 Question was fixed. There's no way anybody could know that much about opera!'

Chris: 'He can't be a dog. He wears a hat and drives a car.'

Gordie: 'Wagon Train's a really cool show, but did you ever notice that they never get anywhere? They just keep on Wagon-Training.'

Vern: 'God. That's weird. What the hell is Goofy?'

I was quiet. I just wanted to sit back and remember this moment. To hold it in the palm of my hand and keep it forever.

"Hey, guys, I'm kinda tired," I moaned. "I'm gonna crash." Everyone else agreed, and we all went to bed for the night.

***

I snapped awake as I heard a shriek pierce the night. I saw straight up and saw the others do the same. Maddie was crying. Big shocker there.

"Oh My God!" Vern yelped.

"What was that?" Maddie sobbed.

"It's that Brower kid! His ghost is out walking in the woods!" Teddy cried.

"I promise I won't hawk no more dirty books. I promise I won't say no more bad swears. I promise I'll eat all my lima beans-" Vern prayed, and then cried out in fear when Teddy tapped him on the shoulder.

"Two for flinching," Teddy said, and hit him twice.

"What is it?" I hissed.

"Coyotes?" Chris guessed.

"It sounds like a woman screaming!" Gordie cried, and I rolled my eyes.

"No, Gordie. It doesn't," I said.

"It's not coyotes. It's his ghost," Teddy said.

"Don't say that!" Vern whimpered. Teddy got up and walked towards the woods.

"Where are you going?" I moaned while Maddie sobbed into her hands.

"I'm gonna go look for it! I wanna see the ghost!: Teddy cried, excitedly.

"Sit down!" I yelled.

"I just wanna see it! I wanna see what he looks like-" Teddy was cut off by the howling piercing the night again, and he fell to the ground, scrambling towards the campfire again. "JESUS H. BALDHEADED CHRIST!"

"Maybe we hould stand guard," Vern suggested.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Chris said, wrapping a comforting arm around Maddie's shoulders.

"Gimme the gun. I'll take the first watch," Teddy said, holding out his hand. Chris gave him the gun, and we all settled down to sleep while Teddy stood watch by a tree nearby.

"2300 hours. Corporal Teddy Duchamp stands guard. No sign of the enemy. The fort is secure," Teddy murmured.

"Shut up, Teddy, and keep your eyes peeled," Chris said.

"Tuuu-tuu-tuuuuuuu! Tuuu-tuu-tuuuu!" Teddy mimicked a horn, and we all groaned.

"Teddy, cut it out! We're trying to sleep!" Chris moaned.

"The dogfaces rested easy in the knowledge that Corporla Teddy Duchamp was protecting all that was dear to them."

"Teddy! Shut up!" I snapped.

I drifted back into sleep, when suddenly I heard a rustling in the woods.I opened one eye and sawa white, transparent shape shoot through the woods.

I sat up and stared at the spot where I saw the figure for a while.

"Wil? What's wrong?" Teddy whispered, and I twisted around to look at him. He was leaning up against a tree. I had forgotten he was awake.

"I saw something," I whispered. "I saw something in the woods. It was his ghost. It was Ray Brower."

"Go back to sleep, Wil," Teddy said, sighing.

"Well, I can't now." I just sat there for a minute before crawling towards him. We were quiet for a long time before I suddenly whispered,

"Do you believe in love?"

"What?" Teddy asked, frowning.

"Do you believe in love?"

"I guess so. Why?" I shrugged.

"Cuz I don't."

"Why not?"

"Cuz they show you all this crap in movies about love, and fill kids' heads with crap, cuz none of that shit is real. Just look at real life. No one ever stays together. I mean, why bother if it never lasts?" I whispered, and laid my head on his shoulder.

"Yeah," he murmured and we were quiet again. My eyes started to droop when I murmured,

"I'm sorry what Milo said about your dad."

"It's okay," he whispered back.

"He really did love you, Teddy. That's all that matters-not what anyone thinks."

"Thanks, Wil," he said and that was the last thing I heard before I slipped intoa hazy sleep.


	14. Leeches

WOOONK! WOOOOOOOONNKKK!

The freight train blew it's whistle, and I sat up, rubbing my eyes. Everyone else was doing the same.

"What time is it?" Maddie moaned as everyone else started to pack up their stuff.

"Quit complaining and pack your stuff. We wanna get going," I said and Maddie did what I said, grumbling.

We started walking along th train tracks, eating what Gordie bought us for breakfast, with Maddie complaining about the crappy food and about having to get up and walk so early in the morning.

"This food _sucks!_" she moaned, throwing hers on the ground and stomping on it.

"She's right, Gordie. Why couldn't you get some breakfast stuff like uh...Twinkies and Pez and root beer?" Vern suggested, and Maddie wrinkled up her nose in disgust.

"That's _so_ not what I had in mind!"

"Sorry, Vern, I guess a more experienced shopper could have gotten more for your seven cents," Gordie said, sarcastically.

We paused at the Royal River.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Royal," Chris said.

"God, the tracks go way out of the way," Teddy pointed out.

"If we cut across this field right here, we'll be there in an hour," Chris said.

"I think we should stick to the tracks," Vern replied.

"I say we go across the field," Teddy argued.

"Gordie?" Chris asked.

"Yeah."

"Wil?"

"HELL YEAH!" I yelled.

"Mads?"

"I don't know...I guess so, but-"

"Let's go!" Chris cut her off, and we all raced toward the river, Maddie and Vern staying behind.

Maddie sighed and followed us, but Vern stayed put.

"Hey, uh...guys. It's a lot safer if we uh...you don't know what's in those woods!"

"Come on, you big pussy!" I shrieked, and Vern sighed and started running.

"Willow! Wait up!" Maddie called and I went from a jog to a walk so she could catch up.

"Thanks."

"Whatever."

"So are you excited? We're getting close to the Back Harlow Road," Maddie said and I could tell she was just trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, I guess so. A dead kid, that's always exciting," I said, sarcastically. "You don't wanna see Ray Brower, do you, Maddie?" She shook her head. "Then why did you come with us?"

"I don't know. I guess I just wanted Chris's friends-you guys-to like me more. I wanted Chris to like me more."

"Why do you like him in the first place? I mean, don't you know that everyone thinks he's a thief? Don't you know what his dad does to him?"

"Yeah. I know everything. And I just felt so bad for him, you know? That's how it started. Me liking him, I mean. I just feel like our relationship is the headline to a love story: 'Popular Cheerleader Falls for the Bad Boy that Everyone Loves to Hate'." I scoffed (I couldn't help it.).

"You would think that way."

"I was just saying. I think part of the reason he likes me is because I'm the only girl besides you that doesn't think he's a thief and likes him for who he is. I just want him to like me for me. That's why I really came."

For a second, just a SPLIT second, I felt insanely bad for her. But then I pushed the thought away. Maddie had gotten everything she ever wanted, and my life was crap. I _hated_ her!

"Eww!" Maddie moaned, interrupting my thoughts as we stepped through mud that came up to our ankles.

"Perfect. Just perfect," I said.

"I hate this shortcut!" Vern moaned, who was ahead of us now.

"'I hate this shortcut!'" Teddy mocked and Vern faked a punch at Teddy's face. And he actually flinched!

"Hahaha! You flinched! Two for flinching!" Vern cried, excitedly and Teddy punched Vern twice on the arm. "But..._you_ flinched!"

"I know. Two for flinching," Teddy said, smirking.

"How are we supposed to get across _this?_" Vern moaned as we approached a swamp.

"We'll use you as a raft," Teddy joked.

"Very funny."

Chris broke off a branch and used it to test how deep the swamp was. "Hey, it's not that deep. We can walk across." I expected Maddie to complain, but she didn't say a word.

We stepped into the swamp and suddenly, the ground collapsed underneath us and we plunged into the water.

"'Hey, guys, it's not that deep. We can walk across!'" I mimicked Chris, and he rolled his eyes at me.

"I told you we should've stuck to the tracks," Vern said.

"Is it just me or are you the world's biggest pussy?" Teddy asked.

"Oh, and I suppose this is fun for you."

"No...but this is!" Teddy yelled, and tackled Vern-O in the water.

"Come on, Teddy, act your age!" Chris shouted.

"This _is_ my age! I'm in the prime of my youth and I'll only be young once!"

"Yeah, but you're gonna be stupid for the rest of your life."

"OOH, DISS!" I screamed, laughing.

"Oh, that's it, Chambers! You just signed your own death warrant! YOU DIE, CHAMBERS!" Teddy shouted before tackling Chris. Vern and I soon joined in and suddenly we were all wrestling each other. I couldn't stop laughing, and ended up swallowing a gallon of gross swamp water. Maddie just stayed a ways away and watched.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going, Lachance?" Chris yelled at Gordie who was wading back to shore.

"Come on, you guys!" Gordie moaned.

"PILE ON!" we all screamed and dog-piled on Gordie.

"Sleeper-hold! Sleeper-hold! No one gets out of the sleeper-hold!" Vern screeched.

"Stop it, I'm serio-" Gordie started, then stopped. "Vern...there's something on your neck!"

"Yeah right! I'm not falling for that one!"

"No, Vern. There really _is_ something on your neck!" Chris yelped and I froze. Oh shit.

"It's a leech," Teddy said and then screamed, "LEECHES!" We all scrambled to the shore, Maddie on our heels, sreaming about not knowing what was going on.

I stripped to my bra and underwear and Maddie followed suit. I picked the leeches off my almost-naked body, refusing to think about the fucking bloodsuckers or I would cry.

"Willow, are there any more on me?" Maddie cried, sobbing and I picked a few off her back.

"No," I whimpered.

"Oh shit, Chris," Gordie said and I turned and saw him reach into his boxers and pull out a leech. Then he collapsed.

"Gordie!" I yelped and we all crowded around him.

"Gordie, man, are you okay? Can you hear me? Gordie, are you there?" Chris asked.

"Maybe he's dead," Vern said.

"He's not dead. He's still breathing, you idiot!" Teddy snapped.

"Well, I don't know!"

"Stop it, you guys!" I yelled. "He just fainted, you morons."

"God, I never met anybody who fainted before," Vern said and Teddy rolled his eyes.

"Maybe he made a bad mistake and looked at your face."

"Shut up, Teddy," Chris said and then to Gordie, who was coming to, "You okay, Gordie?"

"Yeah..." Gordie murmured, and we helped him to his feet and everyone silently put their clothes back on.

"Maybe we should take Gordie back," Chris said. Gordie himself was leaning against a tree.

"Yeah, you guys, let's go home!" Maddie moaned, still wiping away tears. Train-dodges, dead kids, and leeches were just too much for her.

"Oh great, Chambers, now you're turning pussy, too!" Teddy yelled.

"What's your problem, Duchamp? He had a leech hanging from his balls! He fainted!"

"What are you, his mother?"

"Eat shit!"

"You eat shit!" Teddy and Chris started to shove and Vern got in the middle.

"Hey, hey, hey. I think Chris is right. Let's go back," he moaned.

"Oh, what a surprise! The king of the pussies wants to go back, too!" Teddy mocked, angrily.

"Stop calling me that!"

"What? Pussy?"

"Stop it!"

"Pussy!"

"Stop!"

"PUSSY, PUSSY, PUSSY, PUSSY!"

"YOU FOUR-EYED PSYCHO!" Vern screamed and tackled Teddy. He started wailing on him, screaming bloody murder.

"Come on, you guys!" I yelled and Chris and I tried to pull Vern off Teddy.

"STOP IT!" Gordie screamed, suddenly and everyone stopped what they were doing to twist around and stare at him.


	15. Life Is Hard

*Maddie's POV*

"EWW! LEE-CHES?" Paige squealed in disgust. "That's _so_ guh-ROSS!"

While Paige went on and on about how disgusting it was and Willow smirked and told her to shut the fuck up, I was quiet.

I had hated that trip. I still do. Being chased through the junkyard by Chopper had almost made me pee my pants. Our "ultimate-train dodge" had almost made me throw up. The leeches had made me cry. And to top it off, Chris paid more attention to Gordie than me the whole time.

I didn't belong there. Chris knew it, I knew it, and the rest of them knew it. I still don't know if I do, even after 2 years.

But Willow...this is the only place that she _does_ belong. Running from Chopper at the junkyard had made her smile. The "ultimate-train dodge" had made her laugh. The leeches had sent an electric adreniline rush throughout her body. She had loved that trip. That summer.

I remember lying there around the campfire the first night, trying to get to sleep when the cold, clammy hands of loneliness clamped around me. This was the only place that I didn't fit in, and it was where I wanted to fit in so badly.

But then I looked over at Willow and I knew that she fit in here-she belonged here. This was her home, and I was trespassing. She wanted me gone.

"Maddie? What's wrong?" I snapped out of my gaze to see Willow and Paige staring at me.

"What? Nothing. Sorry. Go on, finish the story, Wil."

"Umm...okay," Willow said, frowning. She started to talk, picking up from where she left off while I stared at the ground.

Why is life so hard?


	16. Trouble with Ace

"I'm not going back," Gordie growled and Teddy and Vern picked themselves up from off the ground.

"Idiot."

"Shut up...retard!"

I waited behind for Maddie, who was still collecting herself.

"You okay?" I asked as we slowly trailed behind the guys.

"I guess..." she murmured, wiping her eyes.

"We're almost there," I said, and she frowned.

"I know." We were quiet for a while. "I don't wanna look at him, you know," she finally said.

"You don't have to," I offered.

"Yes, I do."

"Okay, yeah, you do." She couldn't walk all the way up here and then not see the body. The guy stopped and we caught up to them.

"Teddy?" Gordie called.

"Yeah?"

"Is this the Back Harlow Road?"

"Yeah."

"That Brower kid must be around here somewhere," Chris said. "Teddy, you, Vern, and Willow watch the left side of the tracks, we'll take the right."

We split up into teams, peering over our side of the tracks. Suddenly, Vern yelled,

"There he is! I see him! Look! Look over there! I see him! I see him!" We all came running and looked down at the bushes, where Ray Brower's legs were poking out.

One-by-one, we went down t othe bushes, and Chris unveiled the body. The sight took my breath away, and Maddie burst into ters.

"Let's look for some long branches. We'll build him a stretcher," Chris said and Gordie sat down on a log, speechless, just staring at Ray Brower. Maddie was crying up against a tree.

"What's the matter with Gordie?" Vern asked.

"Nothing. Why don't you guys just go over there and look for some branches, okay?" Chris asked and Teddy nodded.

"Okay."

Chris then looked at me hopefully and I sighed.

"Fine."

I made my way over to Maddie and put my hand on her shoulder.

"You okay, Maddie?" I asked.

"Noo!" she moaned, sliding down to the ground. I knelt down beside her.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's _wrong?_ I just saw a _dead_ kid, Willow! _That's_ what's wrong!"

"So?"

I'm not very good at this.

"_So? _So, he's _dead! Dead! _I _never_ wanted to see a dead person, ever! Especially a kid!" She started to cry again.

"Come on, Mads, it's no big deal. I'm sure Ray Brower's in a better place now. He'll be glad we found him."

Maddie sniffled. "You think so?"

"Sure. Now come o-"

"What the fuck do you know about this?" I whipped around and saw Ace Merrill and Eyeball Chambers standing there. Shit.

"Son of a bitch! My little _brother!_" Eyeball cried, and Maddie and I stood over by Chris, Teddy, and Vern.

"You wasn't planning on taking the body from us, was you?" Ace asked, smirking.

"You get away, man. We fonud him...we got dibs!" Chris cried.

"Aw, we better start running, Eyeball! They got dibs!" Ace mocked.

"We earned it, man. You guys came in a car. That's not fair. He's ours!"

"'That's not fair. He's ours.' Well, not anymore," Eyeball said.

"There's four of us, Eyeball, six if you count the gals. You just make your move," Teddy said.

"Oh, we will. Don't you worry," Ace said as four of the other Cobra's come into view.

"Vern! You little sonofawhore! You was under the porch!" Charlie Hogan yelled, charging down the hill.

"No, no, I swear, it wasn't me!" Vern yelped.

"You little key-hole-peeping bung wipe, I oughta' beat the living shit outta you!" Billy yelped, following Charlie down the hill.

Vern yelped and took off running: Maddie followed him, sobbing.

"Now, you guys have two choices. You either leave quietly and we take the body or you stay and we beat the shit out of you...and we take the body," Ace said.

"Besides, me and Billy found him first," Charlie said.

"Yeah, Vern told us how you found him!" Teddy yelled, and then mocked Charlie: "'Oh Billy, I wish we never boosted that car! Oh Billy, I think I just turned my Fruit-of-the-Looms into a fudge factory!'"

I would have laughed if I hadn't been so fucking scared.

"That's it! Your ass is grass!" Charlie yelled, but Ace held him back.

"Hold it. Okay, Chambers, you little faggot. This is your last chance. What do you say, kid?"

"Why don't you go home and fuck your mother some more?"

"You're dead," Ace said, pulling out a switchblade.

"Come on, Chris, let's split," Teddy moaned, and grabbed my wrist.

"They're not taking him," Chris said.

"Come on, Chris, this is crazy."

"They're _not_ taking him!"

"He's got a knife, man!" Teddy cried, and ran off, dragging me behind him. I was secretly glad. I didn't want to stay there any longer anymore, either. We found where Vern and Maddie were; Maddie crying (again) and Vern cowering in fear.

The crack of a gunshot off in the distance made us jump out of our skin, and I whispered,

"Shit, man."

"I don't like this. Nuh-uh. Sincerely," Vern said.

"I knew I shouldn't have come here!" Maddie wailed. "Now Ace and the rest of them are gonna find us and _kill us!_"

Teddy didn't say anything, he just squeezed my wrist. No one said anything for a long time. I didn't wanna die. Not here. Not now.


	17. The Way Back Home

"I think it's safe to go back now," I whispered as we heard the last of The Cobras' car engine die away.

All four of us crawled ou of our hiding spot, and approached Gordie and Chris, awkwardly.

"Are we gonna take him?" Teddy asked.

"No," Gordie said.

"But we came all this way. We were supposed to be heroes."

"Not this way, Teddy."

After that, the guys covered Ray Brower with a blanket while Maddie and I stood back and watched.

Then, we headed for home. No one said anything throughout the night, not even Maddie who was the usual chatterbox. We approached Castle Rock at dawn.

"Well, see you in school," Vern said.

"Yeah," we all murmured.

"See ya' in Junior High," Teddy agreed, and we all watched Vern as he walked away.

"Hey, look! A penny!" he yelled, as he picked up the coin. We all smirked.

"Well, guys...I'd better get going before my mom puts me on the 'Ten Most Wanted' list," Teddy said, and then turned to me. "Walk you home?"

I shrugged. "Sure." Teddy casually threw an arm over my shoulder and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Hey, Chris. No hard feelings, okay?" Teddy called over his shoulder.

"No way, man," Chris called back and then Teddy and I continued along our path back home.

"Do you think Maddie will break up with Chris?" Teddy asked. "You know, because of the past couple of days?" I sighed.

"No. Probably not."

"Oh. That's too bad." I laughed.

"Yeah, I know right?"

We walked in silence after that.

"Here's your house," Teddy said, stopping in my driveway.

"Thanks, Teddy. I'll see you in Junior High?"

"Yeah." I walked up to my porch and Teddy walked up to his next door. I opened the door, quietly and stepped into the house.

It was quiet. The just-rising sun shone through the windows as I silently climbed the stairs.

I peeked into Paige's room and found her fast asleep. I passed my mother's room without flinching. I shouldn't be surprised that she didn't wait up for me, but I was, anyway.

I crawled into my bed and collapsed on the pillow, falling asleep immediately.


	18. What Couples In Love Do

**So, Willow is done telling the story and now it's two years later, where the REAL story begins...**

**Rachel**

*Third Person: No One's POV*

Willow was up in the treehouse, playing her guitar and Maddie was painting her nails while the guys played cards. The usual.

Willow was off in her own little world, daydreaming and fiddling on her guitar. Her head was in the clouds.

"Hey, Willow!" Maddie's high-pitched voice interrupted her daydreams. As usual.

Willow sighed and looked up from her instrument. "What, Maddie?"

"It's almost 5:30. Aren't you supposed to go home and make Paige dinner?"

"Yeah, I forgot," she said, sighing and putting down her guitar. "Thanks, Maddie."

"No problem!" Maddie chirped as Willow started for the trap door. "Hey, do you want me to come with you?" Willow shrugged.

"Sure. Why not?" The two girls exited the treehouse and started walking towards Willow's house.

After the girls had left, the boys started talking about things. Things they wouldn't dare say while Willow and Maddie were there.

Willow and Maddie were walking along the sidewalk towards Willow's house. Usually you couldn't shut her up, but today Maddie was really quiet.

"Willow, can I ask you something?" she murmured, and Willow frowned.

"Sure, I guess so. What is it?"

"Well..." Maddie fiddled with her thumbs. "Chris and I have been together for two years...and that's a really long time to be with someone, ya' know?"

"Yeah, I know." Maddie frowned, staring at her feet.

"I love Chris. I love him _so_ much, and I know he loves me, too." Willow began to feel uneasy.

"What's this about, Mads?"

"Do you think that maybe Chris and I are ready to..." Maddie paused. "go all the way?" Willow froze.

Back up in the treehouse, the boys were snickering after revealing tales of sneaking peeks at boobs and poking their heads up skirts to see what they would find.

"Oh man! Oh man, that was great. Just _great!_" Teddy cried, laughing so hard that his stomach hurt.

"Chris, man, if Maddie knew you were talking about, let alone _doing_ this shitm she would kill you!" Gordie said, strying to get over his fit of giggles.

"Hey, I never _did_ any of that!" Chris yelled, grinning. "It was all Teddy and Vern-o!"

"Eeee-eee-eeeee! You betcha! I'm not like you, Chambers, I got _no one_ holding me back!" Teddy screeched, laughing like a hyena.

"Oh yeah?" Vern asked, smiling. "What about Willow?" Teddy stopped laughing immediately.

"What about Willow?"

"I don't think she would be too thrilled to find out what you've been up to, Teddy," Gordie said, smirking.

"I don't care," Teddy growled. "Tell her, it doesn't make a difference to me."

"Oh. So you don't care at _all_ that she's gonna hink you're a perverted, sex-obsessed jerk?" Chris asked. Teddy hung his head and murmured,

"Whatever."

"Don't worry, man, we won't tell her," Chris assured him.

"Thanks," Teddy mumbled and tried to shrug off the whole scene.

"Aww, Teddy, you love her!" Gordie mocked.

"AWW, THAT'S SO CUTE!" Vern screamed, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Shut up, I don't love her!" Teddy snapped.

"Yeah..._sure!_" All three of the cried, and Teddy rolled his eyes.

Willow stopped walking. By then, they were at her street. "You mean like...sex?"

"I prefer to call it 'proving my love to him'," Maddie said.

"I dunno, Mads. It just doesn't seem like a good idea."

"Why not?" Chris and I are in love, and this is what couples that are in love do!"

"Do you honestly think that you two are in love? That it will last?" Maddie frowned.

"Are you saying that you don't think me and Chris will last?"

"I'm saying that I don't think _anyone_ will last! I've told you before: I don't believe in love."

"Well, that's just _stupid!_" Maddie snapped. "How can you not believe in love when it comes alive all around you?" Willow scoffed.

"Yeah, love comes alive all around me, alright. Just look what it did to my mom." Willow started walking again, and Maddie followed her.

"Oh, so you're _never_ gonna fall in love, is that right?" Maddie asked, and Willow smirked and nodded.

"Yepp. I'm a love-hatin' tomboy, and I'm gonna _die_ a virgin!" Willow cried, smirking and putting her hands on her hips.

"Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?" Maddie asked, groaning as Willow shoved her key into the lock of the front door of her house.


	19. Playing Football in Vern's Backfield

*Willow's POV*

"Hut, hut...HIKE!" I yelled, and threw my hands out in front of me to catch the football being hurled my way. Me, Teddy, Gordie, Chris, and Vern were all playing football in Vern's wide-open back field while Maddie and Paige sat a ways and watched us.

It was me, Gordie, and Vern versus Chris and Teddy. I played with Gordie and Vern because Chris and Teddy were the best players. And Chris and Teddy _always_ beat us. I tore across the field as Gordie tackled Chris to the ground with an "oomph!". Vern leaped at Teddy, but Teddy merely tossed him aside as if he were nothing more than a dirty sock.

With a loud yell ("Take no prisoners!") Teddy charged after me. I ran so fast that I thought my feet would fall off, and just when I thought I would make it, Teddy jumped and tackled me to the ground. The guys had learned to be rough with me, just not _too_ rough. I stumbled to the ground, with Teddy on top of me and his arms wrapped around my torso.

"Oof! Get the hell off me, Duchamp!" I cried, spitting dirt onto the ground.

"Gimme the ball!" Teddy shot back, and I shook my head.

"Never!"

"Give it!"

"_No!_" Teddy grabbed the ball and tried to wrestle it out of my grip, but I held on tight and we ended up rolling all around on the ground.

"Gimme the football!" Teddy yelped.

"Nope!" I shouted back, gleefully, and then Teddy started tickling my stomach, and I rolled back and forth, giggling hysterically.

"Stop it, Teddy! Stop! I'm gonna pee!" I cried, laughing so hard that it made my stomach hurt even more. The football slipped from my grip, and rolled a few feet away.

"There! There's your football!" I gasped, and Teddy went to go get it. "THAT'S CHEATING!" I screamed after him, but he just smirked at me. "THERE'S NO TICKLING IN FOOTBALL!"

By that time, Gordie, Chris, and Vern had made their way over to us. Chris extended his hand, and I took it. Chris extended his hand, and I took it.

"Your teammate's a cheater," I said to him as I dusted myself off, but he only laughed.

"Yeah, well, what're you gonna do?" I glowered at him. I opened my mouth to say something when I was cut off by Paige, screaming across the field,

"HEY! YOU GUYS! VERN'S MOM BROUGHT US LEMONADE!"

"Race ya'?" I challenged the four of them and they all nodded. "Okay. Ready. Set. GO!" We all tore across the field, arms pumping and our sneakers kicking up dirt.

Chris beat us all, and me and Gordie tied for second, Teddy with a close third, and Vern-o dead last. Aww. Poor Vern-o.

We all collapsed onto the dirt, gasping for breath while Maddie and Paige smirked down at us.

"Hurry up or we'll drink it all," Paige said as she took a sip from her cup. We scrambled to our feet and took a glas of the ice-cold liquid.

"Man, what a day," I gasped, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

"Yeah!" Vern cried, having already downed his lemonade and immediately hyper again. "So what are we gonna do now?"

"I dunno, Vern. I'm pooped."

"We could...we could..." Vern cried, racking his brain, frantically, for ideas. "Ooh! Ooh! I know! We could look for my pennies!" Teddy groaned.

"No one wants to look for your dumb pennies, Vern-o."

"How about you guys?" Vern yelled, looking from Gordie to Chris to me.

"I don't think so, Vern. Like I said, I'm pooped," I said, and plopped down on the ground next to Maddie.

"I'll go," Chris said and turned to Gordie. "How 'bout you?" Gordie shrugged.

"Sure."

"Great! Let's go!" Vern cried and sped towards his house, Chris and Gordie walking behind him. Teddy sat down on the ground next to me.

"So what do you gals have planned for today?" he asked.

"Nothing, really," I said, shrugging. "A sleepover at the treehouse, maybe."

"Oh yeah? What're you gonna do?"

"Just girl stuff," Paige answered for me. Teddy smirked.

"What _kind_ of girl stuff? Pantie shopping?" I rolled my eyes.

"Grow up, Teddy. And _no!_ Just gossiping, I guess."

"_And_ Paige and I are giving Willow a makeover!" Maddie piped up, smirking and I groaned. How did I let her talk me into that?

"A makeover, huh?" Teddy said, and leaned back to glance me over. Except it wasn't exactly a glance. His eyes moved slowly over my body, from head-to-toe, giving me chills.

"Stop staring at my naughty parts, Teddy," I said, giggling. "Not for you." He frowned.

"Who _are_ they for, then?" All three of them stared at me in curiosity.

"They're for _me!_ And _only_ me!" I screeched, and Teddy laughed and Paige and Maddie gasped at what I was hinting at.

"Willow, you're sick!" Maddie moaned while Teddy laughed, hysterically: eeee-eee-eeee!

I smirked. "I know. But you love me, anyways."


	20. The Makeover

It was later that night and Maddie, Paige, and I were sitting up in the treehouse. Paige was shuffling the cards while Maddie was giving me my makeover. She made me keep my eyes shut the whole time while she painted my nails, did my make-up, and put my hair in rollers.

"I bet I look like dog shit," I stated, and I could almost see Paige stifle a giggle and Maddie roll her eyes.

"Shut up, Wil, you do not," Maddie replied. "You look amazing."

"You'd better not have painted my nails pink."

"Hush."

I was quiet while Maddie put eyeshadow and lip gloss on me, drifting around in a place called my mind, but I soon sighed of boredom.

"Are you almost done, Maddie?" I moaned.

"...yes!" she squealed, and let my hair fall free around my shoulders.

"Can I open my eyes now?" I asked, impatiently.

"_Yes!_" Maddie squealed, clapping her hands together. I did so, and Maddie shoved a mirror in my face.

"No, no, no, I don't wanna see what I look like! Not yet, anyways."

"So, what do you guys wanna do?" Paige asked. "It's only 7:00."

"Let's go walk around town," I said, getting to my feet. "There's nohing to do in this goddamn treehouse."

"Okay!" Paige cried, excitedly, and followed me down the trap door. Maddie sighed, but reluctantly followed us.

"Willow, it's _cold_ out here!" Maddie moaned as we roamed the streets of Castle Rock. No one else was outside, except for the occasional teenager in a car or on foot.

"Shut up, Faulkner. Be a man," I said, shoving my hand in my pockets, but then remembering that Maddie had made me put on a (jean) skirt, and a yellow spaghetti-strap shirt. I sighed, and looked down at my nails. They were a light purple-hey, at least it wasn't pink.

"Well, look who it is!" someone yelled, and we looked up. It was Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern crossing the street . When they approach us, they all gasped in awe.

"Whoa...!" Vern murmured.

"Jeez, Wil, is that really you?" Gordie cried.

"Wow, Mads, you did a great job with her," Chris said, throwing his arm around her shoulder.

"I knowww!" Maddie squealed. "Doesn't she look _amazing?_" I glanced at myself in the shop window, and I had to admit-I _did_ look pretty fucking hot. To go with the sexy outfit, Maddie had done my make-up perfectly, and my hair (which was now curly) hung around my shoulders. It took me a minute to realize that Teddy had said nothing. He was too busy drooling over me.

"Hellooo? Earth to Teddy!" I cried, snapping my fingers in front of his face. "Well? How do I look?"

"You look..." Teddy paused for a moment to search for the right word, and to be honest, I thought he was going to say 'hot' or 'sexy', but instead, he surprised me with, "_beautiful._" I blushed.

"Umm...thanks, Teddy."

"So where are you girls going?" Gordie asked, and Paige shrugged.

"Nowhere. We were just walking around cuz we were bored. But we're probably gonna head back to the treehouse soon."

"Oh, well, mind if we go back with you?" Chris asked, and Maddie cried,

"Sure!" I immediately remembered what she had told me, only a few days ago.

"That cool with you guys?" Chris asked, looking at me and Paige. I shrugged.

"We don't care."

"Alright!" We all headed back to the treehouse, laughing and making stupid small talk. Just before I climbed up to the treehouse (I was last), Maddie pulled me aside with a grin on her face. I expected her to go right in about her going to 'make love' to Chris, but instead she smiled and said,

"I _told_ you you would love your makeover. And Teddy couldn't take his eyes off you the whole time." Maddie smirk. "Aww, look who's blushing, Little Miss 'I-Don't-Believe-In-Love'." I was blushing? Crap!


	21. Why Don't You Believe In Love?

We all went back to the treehouse, and did our usual stuff. I played cards with the guys while Maddie gave _Paige_ a makeover.

Surprisingly, I kept winning over and over again at cards...and I never win (I kind of suck). I think it's cuz my opponents were staring at my boobs, but whatever. I don't judge.

"Gordie, turn on the radio, wouldjya'?" I said. "It's too quiet in here. It's creepy."

"Okay," Gordie said, and turned it on.

"Maddie, would your parents freak if they knew I was sleeping over?" Chris asked, grinning.

"_YES!_ Oh My God, they would _kill_ me!" Maddie moaned, putting lip gloss on Paige.

"What about you, Wil?" Gordie asked, and I shrugged.

"I don't think so. My mom lets me sleep over with you guys all the time. I guess she just figured that if I was gonna lose my virginity, I would've done it by now." I shot them a smile.

"Maddie, are you almost _done?_" a bored Paige moaned, and Maddie nodded.

"Yep! Open your eyes!" I glanced at Paige, before yawning loudly.

"Damn, you guys, I'm tired," I moaned, trying to stop myself from rubbing my eyes.

"Yeah, me too," Paige said. "What time is it?" Gordie glanced at his watch.

"Almost two." I sighed.

"I'm gonna crash, you guys, I'm exhausted," I stated, throwing down my cards and laying down on my sleeping bag. Paige and Maddie did the same, and the guys laid down a few minutes later.

I was laying in my usual place, where the light from the moon shines in through the window, dozing in and out of sleep when someone called out my name.

"Willow."

"Hmm?" I said, drowsily.

"You awake?" Teddy murmured. He was laying next to me.

"Yeah..." I mumbled, my eyelids drooping. We were both quiet for a while, and just as I was about to fall back asleep, Teddy said,

"So your birthday's a month away. What do you want?" I blushed.

"I don't know. Anything, I guess." Teddy frowned at me.

"Hey, Wil, are you still afraid of the dark?" he asked me and I looked over at him.

"Yeah," I whispered. "Why?"

"Just wondering. Cuz I remembered when you were younger, you used to make me stay awake with you cuz you were afraid of the dark." I smiled at him.

"You remember that?"

***Third Person: Teddy's POV***

"Yeah. Sure I do," he said and she smiled at him. Normally, Teddy was the least-shy person you would ever meet, but he always managed to get tongue-tied with Willow.

He really wanted to kiss her, but couldn't for two reasons:

1. He was too much of a fucking pussy.

2. He didn't want her to think that he wanted to kiss her _just_ because she got a makeover.

"Why on't you believe in love, Wil?" he asked, and mentally slapped himself. He sounded like a wuss. But he _was_ curious...

Willow opened her eyes and he could see all the sleep disappear from her face.

"Maddie asked me that too, just a few days ago. Hey! Do you wanna know something? But you can't tell _anyone!_ Promise?" Teddy frowned.

"Promise. What is it?"

"Maddie's gonna do it with Chris. Yep, she's gonna make Chambers a man." He felt his jaw drop.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, personally, I don't think it's a good idea, but I guess it's her life."

"Yeah," Teddy said, then frowned. "Hey, wait, why'd you change the subject?"

"I didn't mean to. Sorry," she said, and then frowned. "I guess I don't believe in love cuz I've never seen it last."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Well, I'm gonna go to bed," she said and rolled over. Teddy leaned back and stared at the ceiling, his mind drifting back to summer two years ago.


	22. Baseball & Dances

DAYS UNTIL WILLOW'S BIRTHDAY: 21

***Willow's POV***

I headed out to the wide-open field by the treehouse that we called a baseball diamond, with my baseball cap on and carrying my ratty old glove.

My baseball team was made up of the usuals: me, Teddy, Gordie, Vern, and Chris. Not to mention John and Marty DeSpain, who hung out in the treehouse every once in a while. They were mostly the guys' friends, but me and them got along pretty well. The last guys on our team were Billy Greer and Jamie Gallant, and he was one badass dude. He was the one who gave Ms. Ewitt the finger and waltzed out of her classroom with her screaming after him.

Today, I brought Maddie and Paige with me to watch. Or, I brought Paige ith e and Maddie wormed herself into it. She said something about wanting to watch Chris play.

As I approached the field, I instructed Paige and Maddie to sit off to the side, and they hiked over to their appropriate area. I jogged up to the guys, and John DeSpain stared over at Paige and Maddie, and whistled long and slow.

"Who the fuck are _they,_ Burroughs?" he asked, and raised his eyebrows in interest.

"That's Chris's girlfriend _and_ my little sistr, so hands off, you little pervert," I replied, and put my hat on Vern-o's head. "So are we gonna play ball or what?"

We faced the same team every time we played. It was a team made up of kids our age, from Castle Rock. Most of these kids were in our grade, in our fucking _class,_ and we knew them, so it wasn't like we were arch-rivals or anything.

We just played a friendly game of baseball, aside from the occasional fist-fight or temper tantrum from a bad sport when their team lost.

We got in our regular positions: Vern-o as catcher, Chris as pitcher, Gordie and the DeSpain twins on all three bases, Billy as shortstop, and me, Jamie, and Teddy in the outfield (Marty insisted I play outfield with Teddy, because I was a girl and 'couldn't handle playing _real_ ball').

Chris pitched and the ball and bat connected with a loud _crack!_ and the ball went flying. It headed toward me, and I ran after it, but Teddy was after it, too, hungry for some action cuz hardly anyone ever hit the ball his way.

"Teddy! Get out of the-" I started, but the ball hit Teddy on the side of the head, and Teddy crumpled to the ground in seconds, hitting the floor with a thud!

I just stared at him for a few seconds, and then I started screaming: "TEDDY! TEDDY, OH MY GOD! SOMEONE HELP! OHMIGOD, OHMIGOD, OHMI_GOD!_" Everyone came running, from their team and ours. Even Maddie and Paige came over to see what the hell was going on.

"Teddy! Come on, man, wake up!" Chris yelled, gently smacking Teddy on the cheeks as he lay on the ground, unconscious.

"Should I call my mom?" Maddie asked, nervously. "She's a nurse."

"No...no, he's coming to," Billy said as Teddy moaned and opened his eyes. Then he jumped up like a jackrabbit, rubbing the side of his head and blood dripping ou tof his nose.

"FOUL!" he protested. "That ball was a fucking _foul!_" Maddie groaned and rolled her eyes, and led Paige back to their spot by the treehouse.

"No way in hell that ball was foul, Duchamp," Kenny, from the other team, argued.

"Yeah! That ball was fair game, you was just too stupid to pay attention where you were going," Rick (also from the other team) agreed.

"Fuck this!" Teddy yelled. "That was _foul_ and you know i-"

"Hey, hey, hey, come on, you guys, let's just start over," I said, stepping in between them to prevent a fight.

"Yeah," Chris agreed, and that's what we did.

We ended up losing, but only by a couple of points. After the game, Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern bought Maddie, Paige, and I milkshakes at the diner. We sat in our usual booth and talked about things like baseball and school (our freshman year) and music and other shit like that.

For baseball, we talked about our next game, and maybe practicing more often.

For school, Gordie, Paige, and Maddie told the rest of us about the college courses they were taking, and Teddy, Vern, Chris, and I talked about our shop classes. I _was_ smart enough to get into college courses, but Chris is right. It was all about what they think about your family in this town.

And what everyone thought about _my_ family was that whore, Robin (my mom) and her two no-good daughters. There was Paige, who was really shy and quiet to people she didn't know, and was referred to as "the mute" and me, the tomboy daughter who still hasn't figured out that she's not a boy.

The only reason the school board overlooked Paige for the shop courses were because of her straight A's. Even though I was smarter than Paige, maybe even more than Gordie or Maddie, I got B's and C's, because I just slacked off and didn't work hard enough. And also, the school coard let Paige into college courses becaus she behaved herself in grammar shool. I, however, did not.

For music, we just exchanged favorite songs, artists, blah blah blah. Suddenly, the topic(s) changed when Vern-o said,

"So who's going to the Sally Hawkins dance?" Teddy rolled his eyes.

"It's Sadie Hopkins, you idiot."

"We are!" Maddie squealed, glancing at Chris, and I grimaced. Dancing, dresses, flowers, fruit punch, _dresses._ Ughh. Definitely not my scene.

"Yeah," Chris murmured. You could tell he wasn't as excited as Maddie was. He glanced up at the rest of us. "Any of you guys going?"

I shrugged. "Maybe if someone ask me. But otherwise, probably not."

"I _can't_ go," Paige said. "8th grader, remember?"

"What about you guys?" Chris asked, looking at the guys and smirking. "Any of you have someone special you're gonna ask?"

Gordie shrugged. "Not really."

"Yeah, me neither," Vern said, then smiled. "Hey, Wil, why don't _you_ go with me?" I smirked.

"That's real cute, Vern-o."

"No, I'm serious! Go with me! You _said_ you might go if someone asked-GAAH!" Vern cried out, suddenly, then glared at Teddy. "What was _that_ for?"

***Teddy's POV***

I glared at Vern as he rubbd his shin and moaned. Then he looked at me and held up a finger.

"You have a week. One week to ask Willow. Or I will," he mumbled so quietly that only I could hear, and I gulped.

Shit.


	23. Five Chances to Ask Her

MONDAY

DAYS UNTIL WILLOW'S BIRTHDAY: 19

***Third Person: Teddy's POV***

Teddy peeked through the sea of people at Willow, who was putting books into her locker. Maddie came bouncing up and they talked for a little while, and then Maddie's cheerleader friends swept her away. The crowd began to melt away as kids went to cla and Willow was alone. Finally.

Teddy took a deep breath and stepped forward. This was it. There was no going back now. His heart thumped in his chest as he tapped Willow on the shoulder. She turned around quickly and smiled at him.

"Oh, hi, Teddy. What' up?"

"Nothing...I just wanted to ask you something."

"Oh yeah? What?" she asked, tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear, and turning back to her locker to take out a science book.

"I was just, uh...wondering if you, uh...maybe _wanted to_..."

RIIIIIIIIINNNGGGG! The bell cut him off and Willow looked up in surprise.

"Crap! I have to get to Science. If I'm late again, Mrs. Forrester will have my ass," Willow said, slamming her door shut. "Hey, wait a sec, didn't you wanna ask my something?" His cheeks flushed red.

"Umm...no. No. It's not important."

"Oh! Well, okay. See you later?"

"Yeah," he murmured before watching her head down the hallway.

TUESDAY

DAYS UNTIL WILLOW'S BIRTHDAY: 18

Teddy walked into the diner with Vern, Chris, and Gordie, and sat down at their usual booth. Willow was at her place behind the counter (she worked there part-time).

"Hey, Duchamp, did you ask Willow to the dance yet?" Chris asked, waving his hand in the air to get her attention so she could take their order.

"Who says I wanna ask Willow to the Sadie Hopkins dance?" Teddy grumbled, and Gordie pointed across the table.

"Vern-o says."

"Who told _you _I wanted to ask Wil to the dance, Vern-o?" Teddy asked, frowning, but Vern just held up a finger.

"One week, Teddy." He moaned. Shit. Was it that ovcious?

At that moment, Willow walked up to their booth with a notepad and a pencil tucked behind her ear.

"The usual?" she guessed. Their usual were cheeseburgers, fries, and a milkshake.

"Yeah," Vern-o said. "Except I Want a strawberry milkshake intead of chocoalte."

"Okay. Strawberry instead of chocolate. Got it. Anything else?"

"Yes," Gordie said. "Teddy wants to ask you something." Teddy shot him a death glare, but then shifted his gaze to Willow.

"I, uh...yes, Wil, do you want to-"

"WILLOW!" a voice boomed, the sound waves bouncing off the walls. It was Bertie, Willow's boss. "WILLOW!"

"What is it, Bertie?" she called over her shoulder.

"There's a big lunch rush coming in, and I need you to move your bottom!"

"Sure thing, Bertie!" she called and then said to them, "Sorry, guys, but I gotta go. Tell me later, Teddy?"

"Sure."

WEDNESDAY

DAYS UNTIL WILLOW'S BIRTHDAY: 17

Teddy was up in the treehouse, smoking a cigarette and looking at a girly magazine while Willow was playing random songs on her guitar.

"Hey, uh, Teddy, what'd you wanna tell me at the diner yesterday?" Willow asked, not even bothering to look up from her guitar.

Teddy's stomach was in knots, but he just shrugged it off. "Nuthin'."

"Oh, come on, jus tell me!"

"Naww..."

"_Tell_ me!" Willow cried, leaning up and slugging him lightly on the shoulder.

"You know that dance? That Vern-o was gonna ask you to?" he asked, nervously and she nodded.

"Yeah. Sure. The Sadie Hopkins dance. What about it?"

"I was gonna ask you if-" Teddy was cut off by the trap door slamming open, and Gordie, Chris, and Paige entering.

"Sup, everyone?" Paige yelled and plopped down next to Willow.

"Nothing. Just talking about stuff," she said, and Teddy silently thanked her for not talking about the dance.

"What _kind_ of stuff?" Paige asked, innocently. Teddy wasn't sure if Willow's little sister knew what was going on or not.

"The dance," Willow said, and Teddy had to restrain himself from groaning. Thanks a bunch, Wil.

"Oh really?" Gordie asked. "Did uh, anything _important_ come up?"

"It was _about to,_" Teddy growled, replacing his first cigarette for a second one.

THURSDAY

DAYS UNTIL WILLOW'S BIRTHDAY: 16

Teddy was sitting on his front porch after school, staring off into space when a door slam from the next door snappd him back into reality. It was Willow, and she was stomping to the mailbox, grumbling under her breath.

"Hey, Wil!" he called and she barely looked up. "Come ove-"

"I can't talk right now, Teddy," she snapped, grabbing the bills and letters from the mailbox and stomping back towards her house.

"But I wanted to ask you something," he called out, sadly. Her face softened.

"Sorry, Teddy. I don't have time right now. Ask me tomorrow."

"Yeah, okay," he said, and she smiled and waltzed into the house.

FRIDAY

DAYS UNTIL WILLOW'S BIRTHDAY: 15

This was his last chance. The last day of his one week to ask her. Taking a deep breath, and slamming his locker shut, Teddy made his way over to Willow, who was standing by the water fountain and the girls' and boys' bathrooms.

The bell rang and she turned to go to class, but he grabbed her arm.

"Willow! Hey! I need to ask you something." And suddenly, the dance didn't seem like such a big deal. He could ask her, no sweat. After all, it was just a stupid _dance. _He couldn't believe that he had been stressing out over that dumb dance all week.

"Oh," Willow said, cracking a smile. "So you're finally gonna tell me what you wanted to ask me all week?"

"Yeah. About the dance-"

"HEY, WILLOW!" They looked over and saw Vern come bouncing over.

"What, Vern?" she asked, slightly irritated.

"The dance! You and me? How 'bout it?" Vern chirped and Teddy sighed.

Shit.

"Umm...I don't...you know what? Sure. It's a date, Vern-o," Wil said, and Vern grinned.

"Great!"

"Hey, guys, I gotta get to class. Wait a second, Teddy! Didn't you want to ask me something, too? About the dance?"

"Umm...no. I was just gonna ask if you were going. I guess you are," he said, faking a smile.

"Oh. Okay, see you guys later!" she cried and headed down the hallway.

Teddy glared at Vern, and raised his fist. "What the hell, man? I was just about to ask her!"

"You had a week, Teddy. You had a million chances and you didn't take _any_ of them. So if you don't have the balls to ask Willow, then _I_ will!" Vern cried, eyeing Teddy's fist. "And you can punch me all you want, but it won't change that Willow's with _me_ and not _you._"

Vern smiled, triumphantly. He was happy that he _finally_ had something to torment _Teddy_ with.


	24. Cobras at the Diner

DAYS UNTIL WILLOW'S BIRTHDAY: 11

"Oh My _Gosh!_" Maddie squealed when I told her. "You're going with Vern-o? You like _Vern-o?_"

"Yea-ait, what, _like?_ Uhh...nooo, I don't-!"

"Ooh, I knew it! Come on, let's get you a dress!" Maddie cried and dragged me along behind her.

With me kicking and screaming, and protesting the whole time, Maddie and I picked out our dresses. Maddie's was pink (big surprise) and mine was light blue. We picked out our shoes, too, and Maddie headed to her house while I headed to the diner to pick up another shift.

"Willow! Good to see ya'!" Bertie boomed, stomping around the diner with a grin on his face.

"Hi, Bertie," I said, putting my bags with my stuff in it on the counter. "I'm here for my shift...?"

"Oh, right! Just put your apron on and get right to work!" he shouted, eyeing my bag and I did so.

"So whaddaya got in the bag there, Wil?" I blushed.

"Nothing. Just dance stuff."

"Oh, _dance_ stuff?" Bertie said, smirking. He was enjoying this. I could tell.

"Just stuff." Bertie peeked into the bag and then his smirk grew wider. "I never pictured you at a dance, Willow. It's not really your scene." I scoffed.

"That's what I told Maddie. But she _made_ me go."

"Did anyone ask you?"

"Don't you have work to do, Bertie?"

"Oh! Right! Thanks. But this discussion is _not_ over!" I laughed.

"Yeah, whatever, Bertie." My boss ran off and I put the bag under the counter just as Ace and Eyeball and the rest of the Cobra's walked in. Great.

"Heeeyy, pretty lady," Ace said, half-drunk.

"Wow, Ace. Drunk in the middle of the day? That's classy," I said, smirking.

"Shut the fuck up, you little whore!" he snarled, and I just rolled my eyes.

"Do you guys want to take your seats or do you bumbling idiots need me to show you?"

"It woul be nice if you'd show us," Eyeball slurred with a smirk. He was a little drunk, too. I think they all were. I rolled my eyes and groaned, then led the to their seats.

"Here you go. Now, when you decide what you want, call me back over."

"Will do, sweetheart," Eyeball said and I rolled my eyes and walked back to the counter.

God, why are men such jerks?


	25. The Dance: Part 1

THE DANCE: PART 1

DAYS UNTIL WILLOW'S BIRTHDAY: 7

It was the night of the dance. Maddie had come over to the Burroughs' house and all three girls were getting ready.

"So, uh, Paige, _why_ are you going again?" I asked, frowning as Maddie did my make-up.

"Gordie, Teddy, and I are all going together, just as friends. So that way everyone can go," she said, applying mascara to her lashes.

"Aah," I said, feeling uncomfortable and out of place in my dress. And my shoes were pinching my feet.

"I am just _so_ excited for tonight," Maddie gushed, dreamily as she put eyeshadow on me. "Cuz I think tonight might be the night that me and Chris...well, you know, Wil."

Normally, Paige would have been hysterical and bouncing off the walls trying to figure out what we were talking about (she's annoying like that) but today she was quiet. I mean, come on, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what Maddie was talking about.

"Yeah, okay, tell me all about it _if_ it happens," I said, smirking.

"I will, _when_ it does!" Maddie and Chris wouldn't do it tonight. But they would soon. And the thought scared me. Maddie wasn't ready. I didn't even know if _Chris_ was ready.

But of course he would do it, if he was ready or not. To please Maddie. _And_ to prove to me and the guys that he wasn't a motherfucking pussy.

"Okay! Done!" Maddie squealed and I opened my eys and looked in the mirror. I looked a lot like I had when Maddie gave me the makeover that night.

I half-exptected to see regular old Willow staring back at me, with her red hair pulled into a messy ponytail, and dirt on her orange T-shirt and ratty jeans. But instead, I saw a different girl. A _pretty_ girl.

"Wow. Thanks, Maddie," I murmured, trying to mask my excitement. I failed. But Maddie didn't notice. Thank _God_ for that.

"You're welcome, Willow!" she cried, clapping her hands together. "Now for _my_ make-up!"

Fifteen minutes later, and we were all ready. Now it was just time fo the guys to show up.

"I can't see how Teddy's late," Paige groaned, peering out the window. "He lives _right_ next door."

"Yeah, well, you know Teddy," I said, settling down on the couch. This could take a while.

"Chris should be here any minute," Maddie informed us, sitting on the stairs and fiddling with the strap on her shoe.

"Yeah, but Gordie and Chris probably came with Vern. Seeing as none of them are old enough to drive and Vern's dad is the only one that would even consider it," I said.

"So they'll all get here at the same time," Paige finished, still staring out the window. "Oh, look, Teddy's coming."

"Maddie, let him in," I said in a bored tone and the brunette jumped up and opened the door before Teddy even got to the porch. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a white button-up shirt, except it wasn't buttoned up all the way. The top five buttons were undone, revealing part of his chest and his dog tags.

"Hey," he murmured, and collapsed down next to me on the couch.

"Hi, Teddy," I replied. "Did you forget how to put on a shirt?"

"What?" He looked down at his half-open shirt. "Oh. That."

"Yeah," I said, smirking and he turned his attention back to the TV.

"_Teddy,_" Maddie half-said, half-whined. "Doesn't Willow look pretty tonight?" Teddy glanced up at me.

"Oh. Yeah. Real pretty," he grumbled. I frowned.

"What's up with you tonight?"

"Nothing. I just don't really wanna go."

"Then don't go," I said, but he didn't answer me. What the hell? Was he like, mad at me or something?

Before I could think more about it, the doorbell rang and Maddie jumped up.

"They're here!" she squealed and ran to the door. Chris, Gordie, and Vern were standing on the porch in suits and ties and everything. They looked _really_ good.

"Ooh, Chris, you look so _handsome!_" Maddie cried, excitedly.

"Yeah, Maddie, you look really pretty, too," Chris said, then looked at me and Paige. "You guys ready?"

"Yeah!" Paige cried, walking to the car with Gordie trailing behind her.

"Hey, Wil. You look amazing," Vern said, smiling.

"Thanks, Vern, you look great, too!" Me and Vern, and Chris and Maddie headed out to the car and Teddy lagged behind.

The night has begun.


	26. The Dance: Part 2

THE DANCE: PART 2

DAYS UNTIL WILLOW'S BIRTHDAY: 7

***Third Person: No One's POV***

The seven of them walked into the school gym, except now it was decorated with balloons and banners.

"Oh My Gosh, this will be _SO_ much fun!" Maddie cried and everyone nodded, solemnly.

***Paige's POV***

I stood there in my purple and black dress, and felt completely out of place. This was Maddie's world. And Willow's. Not mine. I was just the pesky little sister.

Maddie dragged Chris out onto the dance floor and Vern and Willow sorta drifted away. So it was just me, Teddy, and Gordie. Good thing we planned for this.

"Well...I'm gonna go get some..." I started, trailing off.

"Punch?" Gordie guessed and I nodded. "Yeah. Wanna come?"

"Sure," Gordie said, then turned to Teddy. "Hey, Teddy-" But Teddy wsa too busy staring, mournfully at Vern and Willow. Gordie and I smirked at each other before heading towards the snack table.

"Poor Teddy," Gordie said, filling his plastic cup with red juice.

"I know. It's so pitiful," I agreed, filling up my cup, too.

"So what do you want to do?" Gordie asked, dully, looking around the dance. I shrugged.

"I don't know. This place is pretty lame. We could go sit out on the steps?"

"Okay," Gordie said and we did just that. We sat on the front steps of the school in the cool, brisk November air and sipped our punch in silence.

"This is really a great time, isn't it?" I said, sarcastically and Gordie smiled.

"Yeah." We continued staring ahead in awkward silence. We might as well go back inside.

"Hey, Paige?" Gordie said.

"Yeah?" I asked, turning my head, but Gordie interrupted me by pressing his lips to mine.

Whoa...

***Maddie's POV***

Chris and I were slow-dancing to some romantic song. I stared up at him, dreamily and saw that he was gazing over my shoulder. Why wasn't he looking at me?

"Chris?" I murmured, glueing my eyes to his face.

"What?" he asked, snapping back to attention.

"You're not having a good time," I pouted. "You _hate_ being here."

"No, I-" Chris started, and then stopped and sighed. "Yeah. I hate being here."

"Then let's go someplace more fun," I said, and immediately all my muscles tensed up. This was it.

"Like the treehouse?" Chris asked, hopefully and I giggled.

"No, silly. A place a _lot_ more fun than that. I _guarantee_ it."

"Oh. Well then, okay."

"Great! Let's go." I took his hand and led him across the gym to the double doors. I saw Willow staring at me, so I flashed her one of my upbeat, cheerleading smiles and she just rolled her eyes.

She didn't think we would do it. But we _would_. I would prove Willow wrong. Wrong about tonight. About me and Chris. We _would_ stay together! I led Chris down the streets of Castle Rock without a word, Chris asking me where we were going every couple of minutes.

Finally, we reached my house and I opened the front door.

"Is this your house?" Chris asked, staring up at the well-kept house. Fresh paint, white fences, blooming gardens. He didn't belong here.

"Yes," I said and led him inside. "My parents are away for the night. Dinner and a movie or something. They won't be back for _hours._"

By then, we were at my bedroom door, slightly ajar. I pushed it open and he followed me inside. Pinks and purples and yellows decorated my room and Chris sat down on the bed; I quietly shut the door.

We were all alone in my house on a Friday night, and my parents were away. I watched as the gears moved around in Chris's head, watched a he slowly figured it out.

"Maddie..." he murmured and stared out the slightly open window.

"What, Chris?" I asked and sat down on the bed next to him. I took his hand in mine, but he shook me off.

"Chris, what's the matter?" I asked, frowning. Things weren't turning out the way I had planned. "I thought you would _want_ to do this."

"Then you don't know me at all," he snapped. I flinched, not bothering to hide how hurt I was.

"What are you talking about? Chris, I'm your girlfriend, of _course_ I know you-"

"No, Maddie, you don't know me. I'm not that type of guy. This isn't what I want for us. Not now."

"Why _not?_" I cried, jumping up from the bed and tears welling up in my eyes. "This is what couples do! Couples in _love!_" He stared at me.

"L-love?"

It all came rushing back. Me telling Willow that we were in love. I loved him. But I'd never told him that. I mean, the girl is _never_ supposed to say 'I love you' first. But Chris had never said it to me. Not once in the last two years we'd been together. And then I realized I didn't mean to Chris what he meant to me. He was my whole world, and I loved him with all my heart and soul.

And Chris? He only thought of me as someone he _cared_ about. _CARED_ about! I meant no more to him than Willow. Or Vern. He thought of me as someone to love him.

"Yes. Love." I kept my voice steady. I had to regain my composure. To kep my emotions under control. It seemed like forever before Chris spoke again. "Maddie...I'm so sorry."

Oh no.

"I care about you. I really do, but..."

"But you don't love me," I finished, numbly. "But you will soon...right?"

Chris sighed and looked at the floor. "I think we should break up."

***Willow's POV***

I was sitting at a table, drumming my fingers on the tabletop while Vern went to get punch and snacks.

"Maddie was right. You really do look pretty tonight." I looked up and saw Teddy standing in front of me, his hands stuffed in the pocket of his jeans, staring at his feet.

"Thanks, Teddy," I said, blushing. "You don't look so bad yourself." I pointed to his half-unbuttoned shirt. "Only you could pull that off."

Teddy almost smiled.

***Third Person: Vern's POV***

Vern was glaring over at the table where Teddy was talking to Willow. Why did Teddy have to win? Why did Teddy _always_ win? He stomped to the exit, and slammed the door shut, knowing that Teddy and Willow were staring after him. Good. They at least owed him that.

Sobs cutting through the night interrupted his thoughts. Vern-o looked around and saw a girl in a pink dress stumbling through the streets, tears masking her pretty face.

Was that...?

"Maddie?" he called out, and she looked up at him. Her face was red and blotchy and her eyes puffy from crying.

"Vern?" she called back, so quiet that he barely heard her. "Vern, is that you?"

"Yeah. It's me," he said, and started across the street towards her. "What's wrong?"

"Chris," Maddie gasped. "The bastard broke up with me." Vern was stunned.

"Why?"

"Ask _him!_" Maddie collapsed on the sidewalk, her sobs racking her whole body. She hid her face in her hands. "I _love_ him! Oh, Vern-o, now I have to start all over! What if I never find anybody else?"

Vern knelt down next to her. "You will, Maddie. There's somebody out there for everyone."

"But...but I want _Chris!_" the girl cried, tears slipping down her cheeks again.

"You and Chris weren't good for each other," Vern murmured, hoping she hadn't heard. But of course she had.

"What do you mean?" she asked, sniffling.

"You're not the type of girl Chris is looking for. And Chris isn't the kind of guy you should be falling for." Vern couldn't believe he was saying all these pussy things. _If Teddy were here, he would kick my ass,_ he thought. But right now he was here with Madison Faulkner. And this was his only shot.

"Then who _is_ the type of guy I should be falling for?" Maddie asked, eyeing him suspiciously. He took a deep breath.

"Someone who treats you good. Who you don't have to hide from your parents. Who won't lie to you or treat you like his friends are more important. Someone who will listen to you and make you laugh." Maddie just stared. And then she leaned over and kissed him.

"Someone like _you,_ Vern?" she guessed.


	27. Truck Dodging

DAYS UNTIL WILLOW'S BIRTHDAY: 6

***Willow's POV***

It was after midnight, and Teddy and I had ditched the dance a long time ago. We were walking around, chucking rocks at shop windows and smoking cigarettes. We were still giggling from when Teddy threw a pebble and hit a cat.

"Man, it's been forever since we've hung out, just the two of us. I miss that," I said, still recovering my laugh attack.

"Yeah. Me too," Teddy agreed. Suddenly, headlights shone in our eyes, and I covered my face with my hand.

"Hey! Turn your lights off, asshole!" I yelled.

"Hey, Wil. Gimme your hand," Teddy said, and I blushed.

"Why?"

"Just do it." I awkwardly slipped my hand into his, and Teddy leaped into the road, dragging me behind him.

"TEDDY!" I shrieked as the headlights got closer. "TEDDY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" But Teddy just stared straight ahead, smirking. He had that crazy look in his eyes. And he wouldn't let go of my hand. The truck honked it's horn, and sweved as it got closer, but Teddy stood his ground.

"TEDDY!" I screamed again, but he didn't seem to hear me. Just as I thought we were about to be flattened like a pancake-I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for impact-Teddy tugged me by the hand and suddenly I was flying through the air, the wind rippling my dress. I toppled on top of Teddy, and looked back at the truck to see it passing by, a brown-haired girl around our age, staring at us with wide eyes out the passenger seat window.

I looked back at Teddy and noticed how close his face was to mine. I blushed, but then remembered I was mad.

"You almost _killed_ me, Teddy Duchamp!" I shrieked, pounding my fists against his chest. "I oughta' beat the shit outta you!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Teddy said, grasping my wrists with both of his hands. "You didn't really think I would let anything happen to you, did you?" I blushed and suddenly felt stupid.

"No. I guess not. But how can you do that? I just about shitted my pants." Teddy laughed.

"I don't know. I just can. I like the adreniline rush, I guess." I smiled at him.

"You're crazy, Teddy."

"Yeah. I know." We laid there in the dirt for a while, him on his back and me on top of him. I fingered the dog tags he had on around his neck and asked suddenly,

"When did your dad give you those?"

"When I was three. He said he wanted me to be proud of him. And I am." I gave him a small smile.

"And you should be." I could never really understand Teddy's deranged love for his father, but I had come to accept it.

"I am. I want to join the army when I'm older." I giggled.

"I kind of figured."

"What do you want to do, Wil?" I shrugged.

"I don't know. Be a musician, maybe. Singer/songwriter, you know?" Teddy smirked.

"No, I don't know. Do you write? Songs, I mean."

"Sometimes."

"How come you never showed me?"

"Don't take it personally. I never showed anybody."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Afraid you guys would make fun of me, I guess. Tell me they're no good."

"Come on, Wil, we're not _that_ cruel."

"Yeah, you are."

"Just show them to me, then." I blushed.

"No. I wish I never told you."

"Aww, come on, please?" I sighed.

"FIne."


	28. Confessions

DAYS UNTIL WILLOW'S BIRTHDAY: 5

I was up in the treehouse, playing one of the songs I wrote (but not singing) while Chris and Gordie played cards in silence.

"What's up with you guys? You're acting all funky. Did something happen at the dance?" I asked. At the mention of the dance, they both shifted their gazes to the floor.

"Oh My God! What happened?" I cried, putting my guitar down on the floor.

"I broke up with Maddie," Chris admitted. "And I feel bad that I don't feel bad. Maddie really loved me and I didn't feel the same way about her. Not entirely."

"Oh," was all I said. I expected Chris and Maddie to break up, but not this soon. Not over this. "I'm really sorry, Chris." He just shrugged.

"It's okay. I just feel like I used her...maybe I'm no better than Eyeball. Maybe I don't _deserve_ to be loved," Chris whispered that last part, but Gordie and I still heard him.

"Don't say that, Chris, of course you do," I said, sadly. "You and Maddie just weren't right for each other. And besides, you started dating at _twelve._ A little young, dontcha' think?" Chris gave me a small, sad smile.

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks, Wil."

"No problem," I turned to Gordie. "So what about you? What's your big news?" He blushed.

"I...umm..."

"Come on, Gord-o, just tell us!" I cried.

"Promise you won't kill me?"

"I _promise!_ Now what is it?"

"I...umm...kissed your sister." At first I didn't know what to do. Gordie and Paige? Then I smiled.

"Aww! Gordie, you like my little sister!"

"You're not mad?" he asked, clearly in shock. I shrugged.

"Nah. I mean, if there was ever anyone I would be okay with Paige being with, it would be one of you guys."

Gordie smiled. "Jeez, thanks, Wil!"

"No problem. Wow, I'm just full of generosity today," I said, smirking and they laughed, too.


	29. In Love

DAYS UNTIL WILLOW'S BIRTHDAY: 4

I was laying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about the night of the Sadie Hopkins dance. Or, what happened _after_ the dance.

I had thought for sure that he was going to kiss me when we were laying on the side of the road. I had always sort of had a little crush on Teddy. Ever since we were four years old.

Teddy was the crazy one who dodged trains. Teddy was the one who had an insane war-veteran father who went "fucking section-eight." Teddy was the one who had the big Coke-bottle glasses and burnt, wax-like ears. Teddy was my best friend.

And I was in love with him.

"WILLOW!" my mother screamed from downstairs. "I'M GOING OUT!"

I remembered my mother, whose husband left her for an 18-year-old almost right after Paige was born. Who had took off her clothes and had sex with random men for money. Who hadn't had a steady relationship for thirteen years. Because she still loved her husband. Because she still had a broken heart.

I blinked back tears. I didn't wanna become my mother. I refused to. I _didn't_ believe in love! And for a good reason, too.

Just look at Chris and Maddie. Maddie was an emotional wreck now. And Gordie and Paige. I shouldn't have been cool with it. It wouldn't last. Because love never does! Gordie and Paige would just end up like Chris and Maddie: broken-hearted and alone.

"But not me," I whispered out loud to no one in particular. "Not me."

I refused to fall in love. But I already had.


	30. Unsettling Dreams

DAYS UNTIL WILLOW'S BIRTHDAY: 0, 2 hours

***Third Person: Teddy's POV***

It was 10:00 on a Friday night, the night before Willow' birthday. Teddy was spread across his couch, watching TV, his eyelids drooping. But he couldn't fall asleep. It was lame to fall asleep at 10pm on a Friday night. Hell, he should be out having fun with his friends, instead of watching TV by himself. This was something Vern would do, _not_ him!

"Teddy, dear, if you're going to fall asleep, get in your bed!" his mom chirped as she came bouncing downstairs.

"I'm not falling asleep!" he snapped, shifting his position and then collapsing back down on the couch.

"Oh, well, I would beg to differ!" she cried, laughing and left the room. Teddy shifted his eyes back to the TV and slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

_Teddy was sitting on his roof, Willow pressed close up against him, his fingers intertwined with hers._

_"I love you, Teddy," she whispered and he suddenly felt extremely warm inside, despite it being almost wintertime and the brisk wind giving him goosebumps._

_"I love you too, Willow," he said and then he kissed her._

Teddy's eyes flew open and he awoke with a gasp. What the fuck? It was-it was just a dream? None of it was real? Willow hadn't really told him...?

Teddy felt his stomach drop. Shit. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked around. The TV and all the lights were off; a blanket was draped over his shoulders and his glasses were on the counter.

_Mom..._ he thought, frowning and stumbled off the couch to grab his glasses and glance at the clock: 12:46am.

With a sigh, Teddy climbed the stairs and collapsed on to his bed, staring out of his window at the full moon, and at a certin window at the house next door where he saw Willow spending the first 46 minutes of her birthday in a peaceful sleep.

He couldn't get over his dream. The _stupid_ dream. He hated the dream for not being real-for being just a dream.

***Willow's POV***

It was 10:00pm, two hours until my birthday and I was sitting on my bed, reading a book. Maddie had taken me out shopping earlier, pointing at everything in the mall and asking me if I wanted it.

I was exhausted, so I put the book down, turned the light off, and settled down under my covers where I quickly fell asleep.

_I was someplace dark and unfamiliar when someone grabbed my hips from behind and I let out a small gasp of surprise and fear. I twisted around to see Teddy grinning evilly down at me._

_"Teddy!" I cried in surprise, and tried to worm out of his grip, but he just clutched my waist tighter and pressed me closer to him._

_"I want you, Willow," he murmured and mashed his lips to mine, so hard that it hurt. I struggled, but Teddy was a lot stronger than me and he dragged me to the ground._

_He unbuttoned my shirt and pulled off my pants so that I was just in my bra and underwear, feeling so violated,so exposed._

_"Teddy!" I gasped, but he just silenced me by kissing me and pulled off my underwear. Teddy undressed himself and put himself inside me, thrusting so hard that it sent electrodes of pain throughout my body._

_I tried to speak, but I was so weak and in so much pain that it seemed impossible. I let Teddy kiss my tears away as he explored my body. Taking from me what I would have so easily given him._

_"Teddy, stop. Please don't," I begged, somehow finding my voice, but my pleading only made Teddy thrust harder than before. I bit back a scream as my tears began to flow again._

_"I love you, Willow," Teddy whispered in my ear. "I need you."_

_I wanted to scream. To tell him that I hated him. To cry and punch at his chest with the very little strength I had left. But I couldn't. Because it would all be a lie._

_"Please stop," I whispered, my voice cracking with sobs. This time, Teddy ignored me, but I continued to beg until he kissed my lips just to get me to be quiet._

_Finally, he took himself out of me and put his clothes back on. I slowly and carefully sat up, using my shirt to mop up all the blood, crying softly. I looked up and saw that Teddy was watching me._

_"I love you," he said, but I just looked back down at my vagina, the hairs matted in it's own blood. I dabbed at it with my shirt, without saying a word to Teddy or myself._

_"I love you," he repeated, and I knew that it was the truth._

I sat up and gasped, my forehead drenched with sweat and my chest heaving, trying to catch my breath. Oh my fucking God.

I looked out my window and into Teddy's house. Teddy was spread out across his bed, his face tilted towards the window as the full moon shone down upon him. I imagined that he would open his eye and catch me staring at him, and my stomach knotted in fear. I was terrified of him. I buried my face in my hands and cried quietly.

I cried because of what Teddy had done to me in my dream. I cried because I was afraid that he would do it to me in the future. But most of all, I cried because I realized that Teddy loved me, maybe even more than I loved him. I turned my tear-stained face to look at Teddy, his glasses crooked and his hair in a matted mess as he slept.

Love would either save him from the early grave that his friends were sure he was driven to, or it would destroy him.


	31. Willow's Songs

**These songs are NOT mine, and Willow did NOT write them. I just used these songs, because they were the type of song that I thought Willow would be likely to write. These songs are by Victoria Justice, He Is We, and Dixie Chicks.**

**Love, Rachel**

It was the next day, my birthday, and Teddy and I were sitting in the treehouse. Teddy was supposed to keep me there while Gordie, Chris, and Vern got some surprise for me. Teddy isn't very good at keeping secrets. From me, anyways. I was fiddling with my guitar when Teddy turned to look at me.

"You never did play me any of your songs."

"I know," I said, not looking up at him.

"You said you would."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did," Teddy argued. "I remember."

"Well, I lied then." I glanced up at him.

"Oh come on, don't make me do anything I don't wanna on my birthday."

"Too bad."

I groaned and lifted up a plank in the floor and pulled out three sheets of paper. "Here. Pick oine." I thrusted them out to him and he took them from me. I pointed to the one entitled, "Tell Me That You Love Me" (Victoria Justice) and said, "I wrote that one after we found Ray Brower...and this one," I pointed to the one called, "I Wouldn't Mind" (He Is We) "after we all had that big sleepover in the treehouse. You know, when Maddie gave me the makeover?" Teddy nodded. "And this is my most recent one." I pointed to one titled, "Travelin' Soldier" (Dixie Chicks). "I wrote it after the dance sometime last week."

"Can you play all of 'em?" Teddy asked, handing me back the pieces of paper with scribbled lyrics on them.

I glared at him. "I said to pick just one."

"Yeah, but I can't pick." I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up!" I snapped before playing:

TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME

Ohh yeah yeah  
>The situations turns around enough to figure out<br>That someone else has let you down  
>So many times I don't know why<br>But I know we can make it as long as you say it

So tell me that you love me yeah  
>And tell me that I take your breath away<br>And maybe if you take one more than I would know for sure  
>There's nothing left to say<br>Tell me that you love me anyway  
>So Tell me that you love me anyway<br>Ohhh

Waking up beside yourself and what you feel inside  
>Is being shared with someone else<br>Nowhere to hide I don't know why  
>But I know we can make it<br>As long as you say it

So tell me that you love me yeah  
>And tell me that I take your breath away<br>And maybe if you take one more than I would know for sure  
>There's nothing left to say<br>Tell me that you love me anyway

Show me look what we found turn it around every day  
>I can hear what you say<br>Know I know why know we can make it  
>If tell me that you love me yeah<br>And tell me that I take your breath away  
>And maybe if you take one more<p>

So tell me that you love me yeah  
>And tell me that I take your breath away<br>Maybe if you take one more than I would know for sure  
>There's nothing left to say<br>Tell me that you love me anyway

I WOULDN'T MIND

Merrily we fall out of line  
>Out of line<br>I'd fall anywhere with you  
>I'm by your side<br>Swinging in the rain  
>Humming melodies<br>We're not going anywhere until we freeze.  
>I'm not afraid anymore<br>I'm not afraid.  
>Forever is a long time.<br>But I wouldn't mind spending it by your side.  
>Carefully we'll place for our destiny<br>You came and you took this heart  
>And set it free.<br>Every word you write and sing is so warm to me.  
>So warm to me.<br>I'm torn, I'm torn  
>To be right where you are.<br>I'm not afraid anymore.  
>I'm not afraid.<br>Forever is a long time.  
>But I wouldn't mind spending it by your side.<br>Tell me everyday  
>I get to wake up to that smile.<br>I wouldn't mind it at all.  
>I wouldn't mind it at all.<br>You so know me.  
>Pinch me gently.<br>I can hardly breath.  
>Forever is a long, long time.<br>But I wouldn't mind spending it by your side.  
>Tell me<br>Everyday I get to wake up to that smile.  
>I wouldn't mind it at all.<br>I wouldn't mind it at all.

TRAVELIN' SOLDIER

Two days past eighteen  
>He was waiting for the bus in his army green<br>Sat down in a booth in a cafe there  
>Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair<br>He's a little shy so she gives him a smile  
>And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while<br>And talking to me,  
>I'm feeling a little low<br>She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go

So they went down and they sat on the pier  
>He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care<br>I got no one to send a letter to  
>Would you mind if I sent one back here to you<p>

I cried  
>Never gonna hold the hand of another guy<br>Too young for him they told her  
>Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier<br>Our love will never end  
>Waitin' for the soldier to come back again<br>Never more to be alone when the letter said  
>A soldier's coming home<p>

So the letters came from an army camp  
>In California then Vietnam<br>And he told her of his heart  
>It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of<br>He said when it's getting kinda rough over here  
>I think of that day sittin' down at the pier<br>And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile  
>Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile<p>

I cried  
>Never gonna hold the hand of another guy<br>Too young for him they told her  
>Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier<br>Our love will never end  
>Waitin' for the soldier to come back again<br>Never more to be alone when the letter said  
>A soldier's coming home<p>

One Friday night at a football game  
>The Lord's Prayer said and the Anthem sang<br>A man said folks would you bow your heads  
>For a list of local Vietnam dead<br>Crying all alone under the stands  
>Was a piccolo player in the marching band<br>And one name read but nobody really cared  
>But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair<p>

I cried  
>Never gonna hold the hand of another guy<br>Too young for him they told her  
>Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier<br>Our love will never end  
>Waitin' for the soldier to come back again<br>Never more to be alone when the letter said  
>A soldier's coming home <p>

I cried  
>Never gonna hold the hand of another guy<br>Too young for him they told her  
>Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier<br>Our love will never end  
>Waitin' for the soldier to come back again<br>Never more to be alone when the letter said  
>A soldier's coming home<p>

"I liked the soldier one the best," Teddy said after I was done.

"I thought you might. I wrote it for you, you know."

"No shit?"

"Yeah." There was an awkward pause and then Teddy asked,

"When I go off to war, will you write to me?"

"Of course I will, shithead."

"You won't forget?"

"No way. Why?"

"Cuz I don't wanna end up like the guy in the song, who didn't have anyone to write to him."

"He had the girl, you idiot."

"I bet _his_ girl didn't call him an idiot," Teddy said and I smirked.

"I'm your girl?"

"Do you wanna be?"


	32. The Ski Cabin

_RECAP: Chris and Maddie had broken up, and me and Teddy, and Gordie and Paige had just gotten together. Any knowledge about what the fuck is going on with Vern and Maddie is still unknown._

"Oh My Gosh! Guess what?" Maddie cried as she scrambled into the treehouse.

"What?" I asked, boredly.

"My cousin, Jenna's inviting us all to stay at her ski cabin for winter break! Won't that be fun?"

"Umm...I guess?" Paige said, frowning.

"Oh come on, you guys, it'll be a blast! Anyways, it's better than hanging around in this frozen treehouse for the next week!" Maddie _was_ right about the treehouse. It was fucking cold in here during the winter.

Yes, it was the wintertime. December 4th. Almost a month since Teddy and I had gotten together. Snow was on the ground and everyone was putting up their Christmas decorations.

"I guess so. Paige and I can probably go. My mom will be happy to have us out of her hair for a couple of weeks," I said, shrugging and Paige nodded in agreement. Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern all mumbled something about probably being able to go, too, and Maddie clapped her hands.

"Great! Then it's all settled! I'll go tell Jenna!"

I glanced at Teddy once Maddie had left. "So you think it'll be fun?" He shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe."


	33. The Ride There

"Paige! Hurry the hell _up!_" I screamed up the stairs, suitcase in one hand, sleeping bag in the other (just in case).

"I'm going as fast as I can!" she whined and I groaned. How could she need twenty minutes to pack? I had just thrown together a bunch of clothes and other shit and was done in a matter of minutes.

"We were supposed to be at Maddie's house twenty minutes ago! They're gonna leave without us!" I yelled and at that moment, Paige came stampeding down the stairs, her swinging suitcase knocking down stuff as she went.

"Okay! Ready!" she huffed and we ran outside, and sprinted down the streets of Castle Rock, all the way to Maddie's house.

When we got there, there was a big van in the driveway. Maddie, Gordie, and Chris were standing awkwardly in the driveway (break-up awkward silence) but Teddy and Vern were nowhere to be seen.

"What the hell?" I gasped and Paige went over to stand by Gordie. "Where's Teddy and Vern-o?" Maddie shrugged.

"We figured they were with you!"

"Shit!" I murmured and sat down on the black asphalt to catch my breath.

"Maddie! Are your dumbass friends here yet?" someone yelled and I looked up and saw a brown-haired girl around twenty-one or twenty-two, with her hair pulled into a ponytail and gold hoop earrings dangling from her ears.

"Is that Jenna?" I guessed, looking up at Maddie, and she nodded, solemnly. I smirked. "She's lovely."

"Hey! You! Shut up!" she snapped, pointing at me, then turned to look at Maddie. "Are all your stupid friends here yet?"

"Umm...not yet, Jenna. We're still waiting on a few people."

"Well-" At that moment, Teddy and Vern came running up and almost tackled me to the ground.

"We're here! We're here! Don't leave without us!" Vern panted and Jenna rolled her eyes.

"Alright. Everyone get in the van." We all put our suitcases in the back with us while Jenna got into the driver's seat. We all leaned up against the walls of the van and Teddy wrapped his arm around my waist.

"How long is it gonna take to get there?" Paige asked.

"I don't know. Maybe a day or so?" I groaned and rested my head on Teddy's shoulder.

"I'm bored already."

"It's cold in here," Paige said, wrapping her arms tighter around herself, shivering. Gordie shyly wrapped his arm around her.

"It's too cold to do aything fun in here," Maddie agreed, pouting and pulling her knees up to her chest.

"We could just talk," I suggested and everyone stopped for a second. I could tell that we were all thinking back to a time where we could simply talk about things that seemed important until you start dating.

_I wish we could go back there,_ I thought, sadly. And we did. We talked about Goofy and Pez and the $64,000 question and 'Wagon Train'. We weren't fifteen anymore (fourteen for Paige), we were twelve.

Abd I realized that we hadn't changed as much as I thought we had. Gordie was still the shy writer who wanted to stay with his friends. Chris was still the good guy who wanted to go to a place where nobody knew him. Teddy was still the crazy, wild-eyed one who bragged about how his dad stormed the beach in Nomandy. Vern was still the chubby, scaredy-cat that everyone made fun of. Maddie was still the stuck-up, snooty cheerleader who thought she was better than all of us.

And me?

I was still the same obnoxious, loud-mouthed, opinionated, sarcastic, guitar-playing Willow.

We were all the same, and I think we all knew it.

I glanced back at the window and saw that it was starting to get late. Had we really been talking for _hours?_

"Hey, you guys, what time is it?" I murmured and Gordie checked his watch.

"Almost 11:00."

"I'm tired. I'm gonna get to bed," I said, yawning and crawling over to my sleeping bag. Maddie and Paige agreed and we all set up our sleeping bags near the very back-as far away from the windows as possible.

Maddie and Paige drifted off to sleep, but I stayed awake. I had been tired a few minutes ago, but now I was wide awake. I heard the guys talking in hushed tones about things that they would only dare talk about when they thought we were asleep.

"Hey, Chris, when you and Maddie were dating, how uh..._far_ did you guys go?" Vern asked and I heard Chris slug him in the arm.

"No, really, Chris! Tell us! Did you get to second base? You _had_ to at least have gotten to second!" Vern cried and I rolled my eyes.

"No," Chris murmured. "we didn't. We barely got to first. We weren't really that serious...I sorta felt like we were just pretend."

I did my best not to gasp. Maddie was going to go right from first base to home? Was she really that desperate to keep Chris around?

"Well, what about you guys?" Chris shot back after snickers from Teddy and Gordie. "How far have _you guys_ gotten with Paige and Willow?"

"I...umm...first..." Gordie mumbled and I found myself smiling. Good. Any farther and I would have to kick Gordie's ass.

"That's what I thought," Chris grumbled.

"What about you, Teddy? How far have you and Willow gone? Or...should I say...how far has Willow _let_ you go?" Vern mocked and Chris and Gordie laughed.

"Oh, please! Gordie, you and Chris just eat my dust!" Teddy boasted.

"No way have you been to second!" Chris cried.

"Have to!" Teddy argued and my jaw clenched. We had _not_ gone to second! Sure, we had gone to first _tons_ of times, but second? Not yet.

"Why don't we just wake up Willow and find out?" Vern tested.

"Aww, come on, you guys, she's sleepin'!" Teddy moaned, nervously. Nervous that he was gonna get caught. Okay, I was officially pissed.


	34. Suck at Relationships

It was later that night when the guys finally decided to crash, and Teddy slid his sleeping bag next to mine and wrapped his arm around my waist. I grabbed his arm and threw it off me, "hmmph!"ing, angrily.

"You're still awake?" he whispered, dumbfounded.

"Yes! And I heard what you said about us, you wet end! I'm so mad it's not even _funny!_" I hissed.

"Wil...come on..." he murmured, sadly, but I just glared at him.

"Go away, Teddy."

"Come on, Wil, I was just saying that stuff to impress the guys. You _know_ I didn't mean it."

"No, I _don't_ know that!" I arued.

"Wil...Wil, don't be like that," Teddy pleaded, but I just rolled over so that my back was facing him.

"I'm sorry," he tried again, but I ignored him.

"Fine!" he snapped and rolled over, too, and I sighed and rolled over on my back.

"Maybe I overreacted, but I'm scared. I suck at relationships, and you do, too. But I mean, we both want something that's casual and fun, and we get along with each other pretty well," I said, and sighed. "I guess I'm just trying to say that _I'm_ sorry."

Teddy turned around to face me with a big grin on his face. "Whoa! _You're_ sorry? Alright!" he yelled and I giggled.

"I know, right?" Then I frowned for a moment to think things through.

"What? What's wrong?"

I sighed. "Do you _really_ wanna get to second base?"

You shoulda' seen his face. Sincerely, it was like a kid on Christmas morning. "You mean it? Really?" he cried, and I swear he was giddy.

"Yes. But not here. At the cabin, tomorrow night. I promise," I said and kissed him, softly.

"You're the best girlfriend _ever,_ Wil!" Teddy cried, and I smiled.

"I know."


	35. Day 1: Playing in the Snow

MONDAY

DAYS LEFT AT THE SKI CABIN: 7

Jenna drove all throughout the night and we were at the ski cabin a few hours after we woke up. I was staring out the window as we got closer and closer to Jenna's ski cabin, watching the pine trees and snow-covered grounds go by.

"We're almost there!" Maddie cried, excitedly. "God, this is just gonna be _so_ much fun!"

"Shut up, Maddie!" Jenna snapped, and do you know what the weird thing was? I didn't feel sorry for her like I usually would.

I would usually feel sorry for Maddie because she was my best friend. But I felt like she deserved to be yelled at, because she had been yelling at other people her whole life.

I hated her just like I had hated her when I was twelve.

"We're here!" Jenna barked from up front, bringing the van to a screeching stop in front of a medium-sized, roomy ski cabin.

"Yay!" Maddie squealed, clapping her hands together and bouncing out of the van with her suitcases, toward the ski cabin.

I couldn't believe it. How had I not seen this before?

"Hey, Wil, you okay?"

"Huh?" I said, tearing myself away from my thoughts. Teddy was staring at me as the last of our friends exited the van with their suitcases.

"Are you okay?"

"Me? Oh yeah. I'm fine," I said and gathered up my stuff. We both ran out of the van and saw three people's worth of suitcases dumped on the front lawn and Gordie, Chris, and Vern chucking snowballs at each other, laughing. Paige and Maddie were staring at them through the window of the ski cabin.

Teddy dropped his luggage and stuffed a snowball down the back of my shirt. I dropped my bags and screamed, and then tore after him, my shoes kicking up snow behind me. I leaped and tackled Teddy onto the powdery ground and crawled on top of him. "Teddy, you're gonna die!" I yelped, shoving snow in his face.

"PILE ON! PILE ON!" Gordie, Chris, and Vern screamed, jumping on top of us in a big, dog-piled mess. As Gordie's butt smashed my face into Teddy's shirt, making me eat part of his jacket. I couldn't help but (sort of) smile to myself.

Me, Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern. Just the five of us. It was how it had been from the very beginning and how it always should be.

"Hey! You kids had better get your asses in here before I _lock_ you out!" Jenna snapped, slamming the front door. We all scrambled to our feet to grab our suitcases and run inside.

It was later that day-or that night, I should say-and all seven of us were huddled around the log fire (Jenna had locked herself in the only spare bedroom with a six-pack and a carton of cigarettes), smoking cigarettes (well, five of us were) and wrapping blankets around our freezing bodies.

I took another drag on my cigarette and watched the smoke curl upwards to the top of the log cabin. The guys did the same, and just stared in awe up at the ceiling. Paige just stared at the smoldering fire in the fireplace and Maddie burrowed herself deeper into her sleeping bag across the room (she was still afraid of secondhand smoke). No one talked for the longest time. It would have ruined the moment.

We didn't speak until every one of us had flicked the burn remnants of our cigarette into the fire.

"Someone tell a story," I said, and everyone turned to look at Gordie.

"I haven't thought of any new ones lately," Gordie admitted.

"Then tell us an old one," Chris said and I knew we were all thinking about Lard-Ass Hogan.

Gordie told us our old favorite: the one about Lard-Ass, and a Le Dio story at Teddy's request. When none of us were tired yet, he snuck in a horror story so scary that it even made _me_ shit my pants (not literally).

Gordie knew that his work was done when Paige refused to let go of his hand, and even I was glued in Teddy's lap. Maddie had fallen asleep a long time ago, near the end of Lard-Ass Hogan story and the beginning of Le Dio.

"Hey, you guys, we'd better get to bed," Chris said and we eyed the two bunk-beds on either side of the room (Maddie was still asleep in the corner with her sleeping bag).

At that moment, the door to the spare bedroom burst open and Jenna stood there, drunken and angry. Maddie shot up like a jack-rabbit.

"Girls-over there!" she snapped, pointing to one bunk bed. "and _boys_-over there!" She pointed to the other one.

We slunk to our assigned bunk-bed-me and Paige on the bottom, Maddie on top, and Teddy and Vern on top and Gordie and Chris on the bottom.

Jenna sat on a stool and faced the fireplace, drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels (Jesus, how much beet did she bring? Then again, there was probably a ton of it in the cabin).

"Jenna...we sort of thought we would be sleeping _together,_" Teddy said, looking longingly at me from the other side of the room and guilt shot through me like venom. I _had_ promised...

"No!" Jenna barked and turned back around to stare into the fireplace. I gave Teddy a 'I'm-sorry-but-it's-not-my-fault!' look before rolling over and drifting off to sleep.


	36. Day 2: Sledding

TUESDAY

DAYS LEFT AT THE SKI CABIN: 6

"Willow. Willow, wake _up!_" someone said, shaking me awake. I moaned and opened my eyes to see Paige kneeling next to me on the bunk bed with a pancake in one hand and a piece of bacon in the other.

"Wha-? Paige?" I murmured, rubbing my eyes.

"Wil, get up. It's time for breakfast."

"What? It is?" I murmured and sat up, and Paige nodded. I staggered out of bed and saw that i was the last one awake. Great.

I squeezed myself into the tiny bathroom to brush my hair and change out of my pajamas into jeans and a t-shirt. I walked back into the kitchen and saw a hung over Jenna with her bouncing brown curls and tight mini-skirt cooking bacon, scrambed eggs, and pancakes over the stove.

Paige and Maddie were chatting away, eating their breakfast slowly while the guys were shoveling theirs into their mouths like it was their last meal.

"Whoa, boys. Slow down! I want some, too," I said, smirking and sitting down in front of a plate piled high with steaming hot breakfast food.

"Morning, Wil!" Vern chirped through a mouthful of bacon. Maddie wrinkled up her nose in disgust but I just laughed at him.

"Morning, Vern-o."

"Hey! Brats! I'm having a few friends over on Friday, so don't bug 'em!" Jenna snapped from the stove.

"So, what are we gonna do today?" I asked, ignoring the bitchy, drunken college girl.

"SLEDDING!" Vern screeched, making everyone jump.

"Aww, come on, Vern-o, sledding is for babies!" Teddy moaned, but Paige shook her head vigorously.

"No! No, that sounds _fun!_ We could just play in the snow all day!"

"Sounds fine to me," I said. "We could have a snowball fight and shit." Teddy perked up at the mention of a snowball fight. He liked to pretend he was at war during snowball fights.

"Yeah! Yeah, we could do all that stuff!" Gordie cried, and I guess everybody seemed pretty psyched about it.

Except Maddie. Big surprise there.

"I don't know, you guys! It's _cold_ out!" she moaned, and I rolled my eyes.

"That's sort of the point, Maddie."

"But _still!_ It's _freezing_ cold out there!"

"Listen, Maddie, are you coming or not?" I pressed as we all got up from the table.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," she grumbled and followed us as we put our heavy winter coats on. Jenna didn't have any sleds so the guys got a whole bunch of wooden planks and nailed them together to make sleds.

"_Nuh-_uh! No _way_ am I riding on _that_ thing! It's like a wooden death trap!" Maddie cried.

"Suit yourself!" Vern cried and grabbed his homemade sled and trudged up the hill. Gordie, Chris, Teddy, Paige, and I followed him, dragging our "sleds" behind us.

On the way up, we saw Vern-o come rocketing down the hill, his sled shaking like an earthquake, and him screaming in terror the whole way down. I giggled and ran ahead of everyone else screaming, "I'M GOING NEXT!"

I laid down the sled and laid on it, and pushed off. It went slow at first but then picked up speed. The wooden planks started shaking underneath me and the poorly hammered nails went flying everywhere, making the sled collapse from underneath me. The remnants of mt sled hit a jagged rock and I screamed and covered my face before being hurtled through the air and slamming into a nearby tree. And that was all I remembered before I blacked out.

"Willow? Wil, are you okay?" It was Chris. I stirred nd let out a moan of discomfort. God, why did my head hurt so damn much?

"Guys, I think she's coming to. Wil? Are you okay?" It was Gordie now. I moaned again and opened my eyes. Five concerned faces were staring down at me. What the fuck? Where was Maddie?

"What happened?" I murmured, trying to sit up, but feeling woozy and collapsing back down again. All of the guys reached out to help me in a panic and I pressed my hand to the back of my head. I felt something sicky and wet.

"Great!" I moaned, extending my bloody hand for all to see.

"Oh man. We gotta fet you to a doctor," Chris said.

"Can you walk?" Teddy asked, and I shrugged.

"I dunno...where's Maddie?"

"She went to go get Jenna," Gordie replied as Teddy and Chris helped me to my feet, and they helped me walk to the cabin. With his free hand, Teddy shot a fist in Vern's direction, and he flew back about ten feet. Teddy slugged him five times in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" Vern moaned, rubbing his arm.

"Two for flinching," Teddy explained. "and three for getting my girlfriend hurt!"

"How is it my fault?"

"You were the one who said we should go sledding!"

"I didn't know it was gonna happe-"

"Shut up, you guys!" I moaned. "You're giving me a worse headache than before!" Teddy and Vern grumbled their apologies and we walked the rest of the way up to the cabin in silence.

"Oh My _God!_" Jenna shrieked when she saw my head. "I'm going to call a doctor!" Jenna ran off into the kitchen. and the guys laid me down on the bed.

"Thanks," I murmured and my eyelids started to droop when Jenna came bursting through the door.

"Alright, Willow, get up, we have a two-hour drive to the nearest doctor." Chris and Teddy helped me out to the car and then Jenna sped off, leaving them in the dust.

I came back with a big bandage on my head. Paige, Maddie, and the guys came running out when we pulled up.

"Wil! Are you gonna be okay?" Paige cried, worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a concussion, thanks to you, Vern," I said, smirking and Teddy punched Vern again.

"Come on, Wil! I didn't mean for it to happen!" Vern whined and I just laughed.

"I know, Vern-o, I'm just messin' with ya'. But thanks to you, I have to stay up all night so I won't fall into a coma. Yay."

"Well, we'll stay up with you, Wil," Chris said. "All of us." I smiled.

"Thanks, guys."


	37. Day 3: Concussions & Fooling Around

WEDNESDAY

DAYS LEFT AT THE SKI CABIN: 5

It was 3am and everyone had fallen asleep a long time ago. Even Teddy, who had vowed to stay awake with me the whole night, crashed around 1am. His head was resting on my shoulder and I was playing with his hair. He stirred in his sleep and I looked down at him.

"What time is it?" he murmured, blinking through his lopsided glasses.

"3:00 am," I whispered back. He sat up, suddenly and looked around.

"It is? Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Damn, sorry, Wil. I know I said I would stay awake with you."

"It's cool." Teddy put his arm around me and I rested _my_ head on _his_ shoulder. His hand gently brushed my left breast and he stiffened; I could feel his eyes on me. I looked up at him and gave him a small smile of permission (I wasn't wearing a bra).

Teddy let his hand slide over my breast and grazed my nipple. He cupped his hand around it and I leaned up to kiss him. We started frenching and Teddy pretty much got to first _and_ second base at the same time.

We were interrupted by a groan and a scoff. "Gross, you guys! Get a room!" We loked up to see Maddie staring at us in disgust.

"We have a room," I explained. "You're just in it." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, it's _gross!_ I mean, really, who wants to see that?"

"You weren't awake. No one was awake," Teddy argued.

"Whatever. But could you _please_ keep your hands _off_ of each other until I'm asleep?"

"No," we both said at the same time, smirking and went back to making out. Maddie groaned and I heard a thump as she collapsed back onto the bunkbed.

"I love you," I murmured while Teddy kissed my neck, and his hands crept up my backside, pulling my shurt up along with them.

"I love you too," he said and I sighed while his hands moved to my breasts.

"EWW! GROSS, YOU GUYS! WILLOW, TEDDY TOTALLY HAS HIS HANDS UP YOUR SHIRT!" Maddie shrieked, causing everyone else to sit up and rub the sleepiness and Teddy to pill his hands around his back. I glared at her.

"I'm aware of that."

"What? What's going on?" Vern moaned, sleepily.

"Nothing," I lied, but Maddie ruined my cover by pointing at me and yelling,

"Teddy was like, _totally_ feeling her up! He had his hands up he shirt and everything!" Everyone was wide awake now.

I felt myself blushing a deep scarlet color and then snapped, "Jeez, Maddie, why don't you say that a little louder? I don't think everyone in the whole world heard you."

"Whoa! Teddy, you _did_ get to second!" Gordie cried in amazement.

"Don't sound so surprised!" Teddy shot back.

"Eww, Willow!" Paige moaned, and I did the smart thing and chose to ignore her:

"What time is it?"

"Uhh..." Chris peeked at Gordie's watch. "Almost 5am."

"Shit. It's been that long?" Teddy asked.

"Time flies when you're having fun," Vern said, smirking and Teddy flipped him off.


	38. Day 4: The Drunk Party

THURSDAY

DAYS LEFT AT THE SKI CABIN: 4

Okay, so I'm obviously not in a coma. The doctor called around noon and said it was okay for me to sleep, so that's what I did from then until now. Right now it was around 10am and we were stashing cigarettes and Jenna's 6-packs under the bunk beds.

We decided that if Jenna wanted to throw a party, we could too. Except our party would be tonight-while Jenna was out-and her was tomorrow night.

LATER THAT NIGHT

It was around 10p and Jenna was...well, who cares? We were all too drunk to remember, anyway. Except for Chris and Maddie.

Me, Teddy, Vern-o, and Gordie had no problem drinking. Even Paige had a beer or two and was staggering around the cabin like a moron. Chris refused to drink because he didn't wanna become his dad, and Maddie said that she didn't drink and didn't plan on starting now. I think it was a scheme to flirt with Chris (she's still got the hots for him; I can tell).

Vern was trying to suck all of the beer out of a soggy cigarette as a dare from Chris while Chris, Teddy, and me cheered him on. Paige was practically hanging off Gordie, not that he seemed to mind.

"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!" everyone started screaming (slurring loudly is more like it) as Vern downed one beer afte another. After his third one, he passed out. To be fair, Vern-o had had a lot to drink before that, too.

"Aww!" I moaned, kicking Vern's unconscious body. The whole word spun around me and I felt myself tipping over only to be caught by someone. Teddy, probably.

"SPINNY, SPINNY! EVERYTHING'S SPINNING!" I shrieked and I could hear people laughing at me. "FUUUCK YOU GUYS!"

I collapsed on my butt and I couldn't seem to focus on anything without my head hurting. There seemed to be three of everybody. Teddy fell on top of me-whether it was because he was too drunk to stand (like me) or becaue he was just a perv, I'll never know.

Probably not.

I reached my hand out and collided with Teddy's face, and I took his glasses off and put them on me, giggling and falling backwards.

"Aww, _Wil! _Give those back!" Teddy moaned, slurring his words and falling all over me, reaching blindly for his glasses back.

"Nooo! I like them! They're funny!" I yelled, but Teddy grabbed them off my face and put them back on his.

***Third Person: Chris's POV***

"This is why I don't drink," Maddie said, poking Vern with her foot. "and that." She pointed at Teddy and Willow who were now making out on the floor, practically slobbering all over each other.

"I bet they'll have done it by the end of the night," she stated, but Chris shook his head.

"No, I don't think so." Willow would never let Teddy go that far: she wasn't ready. And no matter how much Teddy bragged, he wasn't ready, either.

Chris started to feel uneasy. He knew that Maddie still liked him. If she didn't, she would have ditched him and his friends a long time ago. And she would, as soon as she was absolutely sure that he didn't want her back.

And he didn't.

The others had been right all along. They didn't get what he had seen in Maddie. Now that he thought back, _he_ didn't see it, either. She was a spoiled, snotty princess that got everything she wanted while the rest of them had to go through hell at home.

Chris supposed that he only liked her because she didn't care about his reputation or what people thought of his family. Because she was the first-and probably the last-girl that would ever like him.

"Eww!" Maddie shrieked, interrupting his thoughts. "Teddy! Willow! Go do that somewhere else!" Teddy and Willow were both staring over here, with misty, drunken eyes.

"Fuck you!" Teddy slurred and started to continue what they were doing, but Willow was still glaring at Maddie.

"Shut the hell up, Maddie! You're just jealous cuz I'm doing what you never got to!" Oh shit. Bring that up, will you?

"Am not!" Maddie cried, glaring down at the redhead.

"Why did you even invite us here? Why not any of your stupid cheerleader friends?" Willow asked and Maddie started to talk, but Wil cut her off. "I'll tell ya' why. Cuz you want Chris back. But _he_ doesn't want _you_ back." Willow was telling the truth. She _always_ told the truth when she was drunk.

Willow rambled on: "Chris is done with you. And so is everyone else! You're not a part of this gang, you never were. You were just a tag-along! Me, Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern-we're the ones in this gang! _Nothing_ and _nobody_ is gonna change that! Us five from the beginning-that's how it should be! But _you_ fucked it up!"

Everyone was silent and serious now, drinking in the truth from Willow's words. She just wanted things to be the same. Just the five of us. She made us realize that that's what _we_ wanted, too.

"You shouldn't have invited us here..." Willow mumbled and scrambled off to the kitchen.

What now?


	39. Day 5: Fighting Between Gangs

FRIDAY

DAYS LEFT AT THE SKI CABIN: 3

***Willow's POV***

It was really awkward after last night. Even though most of us were drunk, we all remembered what I had said (Gordie filled Vern in).

Chris secretly loved me for saying what he never could and Maddie not-so-secretly hated me for what she never wanted to hear. Even though I didn't regret what I had said, I felt like a complete bitch.

"Oh come on, you were drunk. Everyone acts like an ass when they're drunk!" Teddy cried, gesturing to Vern, who was pressing an ice pack against his pounding forehead.

We all had searing hangovers, and I felt pretty shitty today.

"Yeah, but still...Maddie like, hates me now," I said and Teddy cracked a smile.

"Who cares? It's _Maddie_ for Christ's sake! And anyways, you were _right!_" I stared at him.

"You think?"

"Sure! Everything got more complicated when Maddie showed up."

"I miss how things used to be," I pouted and Teddy smirked.

"After what you said to Maddie, it'll be just like it used to be real soon." I smiled up at him.

"You think?"

"Oh yeah!"

It was around dinnertime when Jenna came storming in with tons of new 6-packs (she figured out we took some).

"HEY! BRATS! GET OUT!" she snapped, glaring at us. "My friends are gonna be here any minute!"

"Well, where are we supposed to go?" Maddie cried.

"I don't care! In the van! Out to the shed! Wait, scratch that, go to the shed. We're gonna need the van."

"_Car sex,_" I thought, smirking, but didn't say anything.

"The _shed?_ No way! It's small and cramped and it smells in there!" Maddie moaned.

"Fine! Then wait outside in the freezing cold all night, I don't care! Just don't even _think_ about coming inside until..." Jenna paused. "...noon tomorrow!"

"_Noon?_" Maddie shrieked, desperately, but the rest of us were already heading to the back door.

"Hey! Jenna!" someone yelled, and we turned around...and my jaw dropped. There stood Ace Merrill and Eyeball Chambers, and all of the rest of the Cobra's with 6-packs (Jesus, how much beer do they _need?_)

"Jenna! _These_ are your friends?" Maddie yelped, fearfully.

"Hey. I was wondering where you went," Chris said to Chris, smirking.

"You guys...let's just go out to the shed. Come on!" Paige begged, trying to tug Gordie out the door but making no progress.

"Yeah, scat!" Billy Tessio said, eyeing _his_ little brother.

"Get out of here," Chris growled, standing his ground.

"We were here first," Teddy agreed. "Get lost!"

"Don't make us beat the shit outta you, four eyes," Charlie Hogan threatened, narrowing his eyes, angrily.

"Bring it on!" Teddy challenged, smirking and I began to feel uneasy.

"Okay, you guys, I'm with Paige. Let's just go," I said, and Maddie nodded, vigorously.

"Yeah. Listen to your little girlfriends and get the hell outta here!" Ace snapped, snaking his arm around Jenna's waist. Gross...

"No!" Gordie cried, angrily. Shit. They were all fired up now. There was no going back.

After a few more minutes of insults and name-calling, there was an all-out brawl going on. Eyeball and Billy immediately went after their little sibling while Ace, Charlie Hogan, and the rest went after Teddy and Gordie.

"TEDDY!" I shrieked when he got hit, and I started forward, but Maddie held me back.

"Don't get involved," she said, no concern for me _or_ Teddy in her voice at all. It was just blank. Paige yelped as Gordie collapsed to the ground and I watched in terror as two Cobra's began to beat the fucking shit out of Teddy.

"Teddy..." I sobbed, burying my face in my hands. I heard him cry out in pain and my head snapped up.

"STOP IT, JUST STOP IT! ALL OF YOU!" I screamed, stepping forward and everyone stared at me. "We'll go, just _stop it._ Leave us alone." Ace smirked and shoved Teddy to the ground.

"Good choice. Now scram. You've delayed us long enough, you little faggots."

Chris and Vern scrambled to their feet (it was one-on-one with them and their brother so they weren't hurt too badly) and Paige and I helped Gordie and Teddy to their feet. They were beaten up pretty badly-they hardly even looked like themselves.

We walked out the door and slowly trudged towards the shed, a barely-conscious Teddy hanging on me. We made it to the shed and sat down in silence. Even Maddie had nothing to say.

Teddy reached his hand up and wiped away my tears, and only then did I realize I was crying. His comfort only made me cry harder and I buried my face in his neck. My sobs were the only sound in the cabin and when they died down, there was nothing. It was quiet and dark for the longest time before I drifted off into an uneasy sleep.


	40. Day 6: Imaginations Run Wild

SATURDAY

DAYS LEFT AT THE SKI CABIN: 2

I was the first one awake that morning. The sun had just peered over the hills and Jenna had said to stay in here until noon, so I stayed put. I didn't want any trouble. I didn't wake anybody else, either. Yeah, I was really bored, but I was gonna let them sleep.

Gordie was the next one awake. He rubbed his black-and-blue eyes and yawned, then looked around.

"Hey, Wil..." he murmured, and I forced a smile.

"Morning, Gord-o." We sat in silence for a long time until, one-by-one, our friends started to wake up.

"Gordie, tell us a story," Paige begged after everyone had yawned and stretched and rubbed the sleepiness out of their eyes.

"I dunno..." Gordie murmured and we all groaned.

"Come on, Gord-o! I wanna hear a horror story!" I said and he shot me a smile.

"Okay, fine." And Gordie launched into the most bone-chilling, hair-raising terror story about these kids who go camping in the woods and get killed by a psychotic maniac that escaped rom the mental hospital a few towns over. By the end, we were all captivated with amazement and trembling in fear at the same time. A crack of thunder boomed outside and the lightning lit up the shed. Maddie jumped and let out a little scream as rain pounded against the side of the small building.

I heard sloshing aroun the side of the shed and I froze. "Do you hear something?"

"It's him! It's the man from the story!" Maddie sobbed as I heard pounding on the side and saw the shadow of a body flash by the window.

"Holy shit, Teddy," I cried and grabbed his hand.

BANG! BANG! BANG! echoed throughout the shed as someone pounded on the door. Maddie burst into another fit of sobs and Paige just stared at the door, her eyes wide with fear.

"Dammit, Gordie, why did you have to make everyone die in your story?" I wailed, and Chris stood up.

"Hold on, you guys. Who's there?" No answer.

"Hello?" Teddy called. Still no answer. Then...

"Hey! Brats! You can come out now!" Jenna slurred from behind the door.

"Jenna?" Maddie cried, jumping to her feet. "Jenna, is that you?"

The door burst open and a drunken, half-naked Jenna was clutching the door frame, her eyes drooping. "Yeah, it's me! Who else?"

We suddenly all felt really stupid for actually thinking that Gordie's story had become real. After all, it was just a _story._

"Did Ace and his gang of assholes leave?" I asked, warily as we all got to our feet.

"Yes. They did. And don't talk about my boyfriend that way, you little whore!" I ignored her and we all trudged our way back up to the cabin, only realizing how cold we were until we got inside. It was 1pm and I sighed and looked around the cabin.

"Well...we're leaving tomorrow. I'm gonna go pack up my stuff," I said and walked into the back room where my suitcase was, when someone shut the door behind me. I didn't have to look behin me; I knew who it was. Teddy wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my neck.

"Teddy, I'm busy," I said, folding a shirt into my suitcase but his kisses traveled down my neck and to my collarbone, tugging my sleeve off to kiss my shoulder.

"So take a break," he murmured.

"Everyone else is like, ten feet away. We can't do this now." Teddy rested his head on my shoulder.

"But we got interrupte last time. We _always_ get interrupted," he pouted and I twisted my head around to kiss him.

"Then how 'bout we wait until we get back and we're all alone? That way we won't get interrupted."

"Or we could put a chair in front of the door." I giggled.

"God. Is sex all you think about?"

"I wouldn't be all that surprised if I were you. You _have_ known me for eleven years." I smiled and turned around to wrap my arms around him and kiss him, softly.

"You make me crazy, Teddy Duchamp."

"Is that a yes?" I sighed, and nodded. My shirt and my bra were off in no time, and I was spread out across the table, Teddy kissing my breasts.

"HEY! You guys done in there?" Gordie cried, pounding on the door. The chair rattled from underneath the doorknob (he wasn't kidding).

"NO!" Teddy yelled out while at the same time, I called out, "Yes!" We looked at each other.

"Let's save it for when we get back to Castle Rock," I said, and that was all it took to get Teddy to agree with me.


	41. Day 7: Goodbyes

SUNDAY

DAYS LEFT AT THE SKI CABIN: 1

So we pretty much didn't have any time to hang out today. We were all too busy packing our stuff into Jenna's van and getting ready to leave tonight. After all, it would be Christmas soon, and we couldn't-wouldn't-spend it up here (with Maddie).

That was another issue. Maddie refused to talk to me, let alone look at me. Paige was the only one she ever talked to and even my sister only got a few words out of her.

I was on the back porch, smoking a cigarette after I had gotten all my stuff in the van when Maddie came out to stand by me. She didn't bother to wait for a while before she spoke-she got right into it.

"You were right. I _should_ have invited my cheerleader friends here," she murmured and I just watched the smoke from my cigarette float into the sky.

"You and I-we claimed to be best friends...but we were lying. To everyone. Even ourselves. We're too different to be best friends. We were just putting up with each other for Chris's sake." Maddie took a deep breath. "But we don't have to worry about that anymore, because you were right again: Chris doesn't want me back. And he was the only reason that I hung around with you guys for two years.

"Chris was the one thing we had in common. And that's gone now. So, don't worry...after we get back to Castle Rock I'll go back to your world and leave you to yours. So...I guess what I'm trying to say is...goodbye, Willow. And good luck." I know this was supposed to be a really heartfelt moment, but I'm not really into that emotional crap.

So, I just flicked my cigarette to the ground and squashed it beneath my shoe, looked at Maddie and said, "Good luck with what?"

"School. Friends. Family. _Life._ And with Teddy." She looked down at her feet, nervously, knowing that I was glaring at her. "I really hope you guys work out."

"Thanks. Well...bye, Mads."

"Bye."


	42. False Suspicions

*Paige's POV*

"Willow!" I called down the stairs as I rummaged through her room. "Where did you say your make-up was again?"

"In my dresser!" she yelled back and I threw open a few of her drawers and searched through all of the contents. I was going out with Gordie tonight and had lent all my make-up to my friend, Daisy. Smart move, huh?

I shifted around some of her jeans and felt a small box. _This must be it,_ I thought and opened the lid; I gasped. _No fucking way._

There definitely wasn't make-up in there. Instead, I found a bottle of perfume, birth control pills, small packages of lubricants, and about ten Laytex condums. I slammed the lid back onto the box and stormed downstairs.

"WILLOW! YOU AND TEDDY HAVE ONLY BEEN GOING OUT FOR A MONTH AND A HALF!"

She rolled her eyes. "As usual, I have no idea what the hell you're talking about."

"Oh yeah?" I yelled and held up the box. Her eyes widened.

"Where did you get that?"

"God, you always say that you hate it when Mom sleeps around but you're _just_ like her! You _slut!_"

"_Hey!_" Willow snapped, glaring at me. "Teddy and I _aren't_ having sex, you idiot."

"Then wh-"

"I got all that stuff from Mom's room. When Teddy and I _do_ do it, I wanna be safe. I don't wanna end up like Mom."

"Oh," I said, staring down at the box and suddenly felt stupid. Willow loved Teddy, but she wasn't a whore.

"I oughta' beat the shit outta you for calling me a slut!" Willow snapped and I ran up the stairs.


	43. Waiting

***Willow's POV***

I was up in the treehouse with Teddy and Chris; we were all smoking and looking at magazines.

"So, Wil, my mom's going up to Togus this Saturday to visit my dad. Some kind of couples thing. I dunno. Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to come over," Teddy said.

"What? Sure," I said, and went back to my magazine. On the outside I was totally calm, but on the inside, my stomach was doing somersaults. He was inviting me over when his parents weren't home? Shit! _Everyone_ knew what that meant!

***Jayme's POV***

I was sitting on the couch, watching something on TV. I was silently freaking out, but managing to keep it together for my dad in the kitchen. I had just moved to Castle Rock over winter break to move in with my cousin, Maddie. Right now Maddie was out with her cheerleader friends and her parents (Uncle Roger and Aunt Melinda) were working.

School started up again soon and I was _really_ nervous. I had never been good at making friends. Everyone picked on me at my old school, which was why we had to move. Again.

The front door flew open with a bang, and Maddie waltzed in with one of her skinmpy outfits on, followed by two cheerleader groupies.

"Who's _she?_" the blonde asked, jabbing a thumb in my direction.

"This is my cousin, Jayme," Maddie said, rolling her eyes and tossing a lock of brown hair over her shoulder.

Maddie and my older sister, Jenna, were almost exactly the same. They had dark brown hair and a snotty attitude; they both thought they were better than everyone else-but for entirely different reasons.

But me? I had thin, light brown hair and was insanely shy. Why had their gene skipped me?

"Oh," the blonde said and the other brunette rolled her eyes.

"Let's go, guys," Maddie said and they turned down the hall to Maddie's bedroom. My dad appeared where Maddie had just been standing.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"What was what about?" I asked, innocently.

"I thought you were gonna try this time, J. We're running out of options," he said.

"I _will,_" I insisted. "but those are Maddie's friends."

"Okay, fine," he said, frowning and then disappeared.

"Okaaayy, byeee, Bianca! Vicky!" Maddie called after them, waving. "Call meee!"

It was a few hours later and Maddie's groupies were finally leaving. She shut the front door and turned around to face me.

"I have to fix you," she said.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"I don't want you embarrassing me at school tomorrow. So I have to fix you." Embarrassing her? _I_ was the one she should be worried about!

It was the next day-Monday morning and I was in Maddie's bedroom, letting her put make-up on me.

"Are you almost done?" I murmured through a hunk of lip gloss as she put eyeshadow on me.

"Yes. Now quit talking," she said and then announced that she was done a few minutes later. I opened my eyes and lookedin the mirror. Wow. I looked...pretty. Not skanky, like I thought Maddie would make me look. But like a normal, pretty fifteen-year-old girl.

"There. Now for your outfit," she said and my heart sank. We weren't done?

***Willow's POV***

_It was Saturday afternoon and Teddy and I were making out under the covers in his bed. He started to unbutton my jeans, and I pushed away._

_"Teddy, wait," I whispered but he just shoved my jeans down and kissed me._

_"Teddy. Teddy, stop," I said, trying to push him away but he held me close and pulled down his own jeans until we were just in our underwear (we took off our shirts a while ago)._

_"Don't do this to me," I pleaded. "Please."_

_"Shh," he whispered and pulled down my panties and then his boxers, and then he was inside me, thrusting harder and harder._

_"Teddy," I sobbed and then, instead of trying to get away, I clung to him. I wrapped my arms around his naked torso and buried my tear-stained face in his neck while he raped me._

_"I love you," he whispered and thrust inside me harder, and I let out a gasp of pain._

My eyes flew open and I gasped. What the fuck? Another rape dream? I looked over at my clock and it read 5:59. Fucking great. A minute until I was supposed to get up.

Paige and I walked out of our front door, talking and swinging our backpacks when we heard another front door swing open and the trampeling of feet. I looked behind me and saw Teddy come running up to me.

"Hey," he murmured.

"Getting used to going back to school?" Paige guessed, smirking and Teddy nodded and slipped his hand into mine. Paige went on ahead and Teddy stroked my hand with his thumb. "Saturday is gonna be great."

"Uh-huh," I said, trying to ignore the butterflies in my stomach and to _not_ think about my dream.

"You okay?" Teddy asked and I nodded.

"Fine," I lied. He frowned.

"You don't wanna come over." We stopped walking.

"No, I do. But...I think we should wait."

"Oh."

"I love you and I love us and I don't want to ruin it over something we might not be ready for," I explained.

"I love you too," he said, sighing and kissed me. "but I guess if you wanna wait...then we'll wait."

"Thank you, Teddy Bear," I said and hugged him.

"You're welcome."

**Soooo...I decided to add a new character to make things more interesting. I hope you like her! :P**

**Love, Rachel**


	44. Who Is She?

***Third Person: Vern's POV***

It was the first day back to school before the first bell had rung. The vast darkness of the janitor's closet filled his eyes and his lips met heres and he put his hands on her hips. The bell rang outside and Maddie pulled away.

"I have to get to class," she said. "Meet me behind the diner after school."

"Okay," he said before she slipped into the large crowd of people. This had been going on ever since the night when she had kissed him.

Vern had stayed awake every night at the ski cabin, suffering through listening to Teddy and Willow giggle and fool around, just so he could wake Maddie up so they could make out. They had been meeting at secret places so they could fool around and date secretly.

It sort of bothered him that Maddie was too embarrassed to be seen with him in public, but this was _Madison Faulkner._ He wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to date Madison Faulkner.

Vern had lost Willow to Teddy, but Willow didn't compare to Maddie. Willow was pretty, but Maddie was a babe.

Vern pressed his ear up against the door and made sure he heard absolute silence before sneaking out of the janitor's closet.

***Jayme's POV***

I was standing by the water fountain when Maddie emerged from the janitor's closet, blushing and her lip gloss smeared all over her mouth.

"Maddie, I've been waiting for you," I said. "Who were you making out with in there?"

"What? None of your business!" she snapped and then looked aroud at the empty hallway "I have to get to class."

"Wait! Maddie, I need help finding _my_ cla-" I started, but then she was gone.

_Crap,_ I thought, nervously looking around. _What now?_

Then I heard giggles and hushed voices and footsteps getting closer and closer.

"...I'm so glad you said we should ditch. No way I could sit through Mrs. Evans blabbin about formulas for forty-five minutes," a girl said. "I would die."

"Yeah. I'm not gonna have math homework the first day back," the boy agreed.

"I know, right? Fuck that shit."

They turned the corner and I say a blonde boy in a blue t-shirt (he was cute) and a redheaded girl with jeans on and a bum t-shirt. They stared at me as they walked by, but then the girl looked away and grabbed the boy's sleeve.

"Hey, Chris, let's go to the diner. Bertie isn't working today cuz he's dropping off his daughter at the preschool and Joanne won't care if we ditch."

"What? Umm...okay," he said and they took a right before pushing open an exit door and left the building.

***Willow's POV***

Chris and I were walking on the sidewalk on the way to the diner, laughing and making small talk.

"What was up with that girl?" I asked. "I've never seen her before. And she looked kinda familiar."

"She was hot," Chris commented and I laughed.

"Yeah, she was pretty. You should ask her out."

"Me? No..." he trailed off.

"Why not? It's been almost three months since you and Maddie broke up. And what girl wouldn't want to go out with you?"

"You," Chris said, grinning and I rolled my eyes.

"We got married when we were five. Remember?" Chris laughed.

"Oh yeah. But I think we hafta get a divorce, cuz I think Teddy might kill me," Chris said and I giggled.

"That's true. And you wanna hear something my mom said? But you can't tell Teddy, cuz he'll get mad."

"Okay."

"Pinky swear?"

"Pinky swear," Chris said and we locked pinkie before I spilled my secret.

"I was in the kitchen yesterday and my mom was like, 'Willow, you would look really good with Chris,' and then Paige was like, 'Yeah! You _would_ look good with Chris, Wil! You guys would be so cute together.'"

"Oh wow," Chris said, grinning as he pushed open the door of the diner. It was practically empty, an old man hunched over in the corner and a young woman with a sniffling toddler seated by the window.

"Yeah, but seriously, don't tell Teddy. He'll get pissed," I said and Chris nodded.

"Yeah, he would."

'Okay we're off topic," I said. "Why don't you ask that girl out?"

"Because I don't even know her. What if she turns out to be another Maddie?" I laughed so hard that I almost bust a gut.

"Oh My God. That girl _was_ the fucking biggest mistake of your life, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Chris said with a small smile.

"Teddy and Gordie are passing you up," I said, smirking and Joanne approached our booth. She was a brunette in her thirties and one of my co-workers.

"How come you kids aren't in school?" she asked, chewing on a toothpick and taking out a small pad to take our order.

"We ditched math," I replied. "And I want pancakes and eggs. Chris?"

"Same," he said and Joanne scribbled down our order.

"Drinks?"

"Apple juice," I said.

"Orange," Chris stated.

"Alright," Joanne said and turned to go, but then came back. "Hey, Willow, there's a new waitress who's gonna be working your shift with you from now on. Bertie just hired her."

"Alright," I said and Joanne left.

"Hmm. I wonder who the new waitress is," Chris said. "I hope she's nice."


	45. Meeting Jayme

I leaned up against the front of the diner. I wanted to get a smoke in before my shift started.

"Hey, Willow-" Bertie bellowed, throwing open the front door and eyed my cigarette. "Smoking is bad for you, you know."

"Yeah, well. So whaddaya want?"

"It's time for your shift."

"What?" I said, glancing at my watch. "No, it's not. My shift doesn't start for another three minutes."

"I know, but it's the new girl's first day and I thought, who better to show her the ropes than my best waitess?" I grinned and rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, right. I'll be right there."

***Jayme's POV***

I was standing behind the counter at the diner with my apron on, drumming my fingers on the counter. Bertie said that he was going to have someone help me out on my first day.

I heard the clinking of a bell, meaning that someone had entered the diner and saw a redhead walking towards me, shoulders hunched and a cigarette hanging from her mouth. She looked up at me as she hopped over the counter and I tried not to gasp.

She was the girl from the hallway this morning, With that cute boy, Chris. Bu more importantly, she was the girl that I had sen the first day that I moved here a few months ago. My dad and I were riding into town in our truck and her and a brown-haired boy with Coke-bottle glasses were truck dodging:

_"You're gonna like it here, J," my dad said as he turned on his headlights while he drove through the streets of Castle Rock: my new home. "It's a cute little town where everyone knows everyone. Maddie will help you make friends real fast." I nodded, but didn't totally agree. We had been moving from town to town because I couldn't seem to make friends _anywhere._ I was hopeless._

_I gazed out the front window, music from the radio station filling my ears. The headlights lit the dark road ahead of us, but suddenly two teenagers around my age jumped in front of our truck: one was a boy with Coke-bottle glasses and brown hair, who was grinning wildly and holding onto the hand of a pretty redhead with freckles sprinkled on her nose and cheeks. She looked, terrified, tugging on his hand and screaming his name._

_"Holy fucking shit!" my dad screamed, trying to swerve out of the way, but it was too late: we were going to hit them. I clutched the side of my seat and started screaming, too. But at the last minute, they jumped out of our way and collapsed onto the side of the road in hysterics._

_"Damn kids!" Dad snapped, glancing back at them, angrily as he swerved back onto the center of the road. I stuck my head out the window to get one last look at them, and saw that the redhead was staring back at me._

"Hey," she said, grinning and stuck out her hand but then stopped. "Hey! I know you! You're the girl from this morning!"

"Umm...yeah," I said, nervously and she quickly read my nametag.

"So, uhh...Jayme, I'm Willow and I'm gonna help you out on your first day, a'ight?" she said and threw her cigarette in the trash can under the counter.

"Okay," I said and she put on her apron.

"So, uhh...did you just move here?"

"Yeah."

She opened her mouth to say something else, but the bell clanged and four boys came stomping in: one was Chris from this morning and another was the boy who Willow was the boy who Willow was truck-dodging with.

"Hey, Wil!" the truck-dodging boy yelled, grinning and leaned across the counter to give her a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"Hi, Teddy. What's up, guys?"

"Who's that?" the skinny brunette asked, pointing at me.

"Oh. That's Jayme, she's the new waitress here," Willow said and then she winked at Chris, who rolled his eyes. "I have to show her the in's and out's of working here."

"Cool," the huskier one said.

"So whaddaya you assholes want?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"The usual," Teddy said.

"Turkey sandwich and a Coke," Chris replied and the brunette nodded in agreement.

"Pizza!" the husky one chired, and Willow rolled her eyes.

"We don't have pizza here, moron. I can make you a BLT if you want."

"Okay!"

"Alright." Chris and the other two went to sit at a booth, but Teddy stayed behind.

"Hey, Wil...even though we're gonna wait, you're still coming over Saturday, right?" he murmured and she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, freak. Now go," Willow said, pushing him towards his friends.

"Who were they?" I asked.

"My friends: Chris, Gordie, and Vern," she said, pointing them out. "and my boyfriend, Teddy."

"Oh," I said.

"So, uh, Jayme. You're new here, right?" I nodded.

"Yeah."

"So you wanna hang out later?" she asked and I just stood there, frozen. Was she serious?

"Umm...what?"

"After our shift is over. You wann ahng out at my house?"

"Uhh...yeah! Sure."

"Cool. Hey, Nick!" she called over her shoulder. "We need one cheeseburger, two turkey sandwiches, a BLT, two Cokes, and two chocolate milkshakes."

"Got it!" he called from the kitchen and I gaped at her.

"What?" she asked, grinning.

"How do you remember all that?"

"I know what they like. Hey, you wanna play the Question Game?" Willow asked, hopping up to sit on the counter.

"The Question Game?"

"Yeah. You ask me a question and then I ask you one. And you have to be honest, no lying."

"O-okay," I stammered, nervously.

"What do you like to do for fun? Like, in your free time when you're bored?"

"I like to draw," I said.

"Are you good?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Show me sometime. Maybe we'll swing by your house and get the stuff you drew before we go back to the treehouse."

"Treehouse?"

"It's where I spend most of _my_ free time. Okay, your turn. Ask me a question."

"Umm...what do _you_ like to do in your free time?"

"Okay, I'll cut you some slack since you've never played this before but no copying questions."

"Sorry."

"I like to...play guitar and play baseball for our team-unofficial team, I should say-and hang out and smoke and play cards in the treehouse with the guys. And...that's pretty much it."

"Wow." _Did she say something about smoking?_ I thought to myself. _I don't smoke._

"Okay, my turn. Umm...tell me about your family."

"That's not a question."

"Fine. What's your family like?"

"My dad...he's nice, I guess. But he gets stressed out a lot. And I have an older sister named Jenna. She's twenty-one, and sort of a party girl. She moved out when I was twelve, and I never really saw her much after that."

"No mom, huh?" she guessed. "No big deal. I don't have a dad."

"What are your friends like?" I asked, trying to get off the topic.

"Them? What do you want to know about them for?"

"I don't know."

"Well, umm...Teddy's crazy. And really, _really_ weird. His dad stormed the beach in Normandy and came back all crazy. He went section eight and they shipped him off to Togus. But I wouldn't say anything bad about Teddy's dad to Teddy-he really loved his old man.

"Gordie writes stories and shit, and he's quieter and more sensitive. His older brother Dennis died in a car accident three years ago and his parents pretty much ignored him since then. He's dating my little sister, Paige-she's fourteen. Blonde, shy, smart, pretty much perfect for him.

"Vern is...I don't really know what to say about Vern. We tease him a lot, but he's really funny and a good guy, overall. Kind of a pussy, but that's okay. Every group needs a pussy.

"Chris is a great guy and an awesome friend, but he has a bad rep in this town. Everyone just think os him as one of those no-good Chambers kids that'll never amount to anything, and his dad abuses him. Sad, I know, but what can we do about it?"

"Willow! Your order's ready!" Nick called, sliding a platter of food towards her before I could respond.

"Great. Hey, Jayme, why don't you take this one?" Willow asked, shoving the platter towards me.

"What? Me? No! I'll mess it up."

"You remember what they all ordered, don't you?"

"Well...yeah, but-"

"_Go!_" she cried, shoving me towards them. _Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall, _I thought.

"Umm...your order's ready," I said, nervously as I approached their table.

"Great! I'm starving!" Vern cried, and Teddy rolled his eyes.

"Big surprise there."

"Go screw!"

I put the cheeseburger in front of Teddy and the BLT in front of Vern, then laid down two turkey sandwiches in front of Chris and Gordie. Teddy and Vern went on insulting each other and Gordie was laughing at them, but I noticed Chris was watching me set down the drinks in front of each person.

"You guys need anything else?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"What? No, we're good," Teddy said and I turned and practically ran back over to Willow, who was smirking widely.


	46. Getting Introduced to the Gang

MONDAY

***Jayme's POV***

"You'll like Paige, she's nice," Willow sid as we walked along the streets of Castle Rock. We were on our way to her house to 'pick up Paige before we headed to the treehouse.' Or at least that's how Willow had put it.

"Yeah, I'm sure I will," I said, shoving my hands in my pockets and Willow started walking up the driveway of a run-down house, and I immediately felt bad. Willow lived in this dump while I was living in Maddie's nice house with her and her rich, fancy-shmancy parents.

I followed her while she stomped inside the house and saw a pretty blonde girl sitting on the couch, watching TV. It was hard to believe that her and Willow were sisters-they looked nothing alike.

"Paige, move it. We're going to the treehouse," Willow said, shutting off the TV.

"Hey, I was watching that," Paige protested.

"Well, not anymore." she gestured towards me. "This is my new friend, Jayme. She works at the diner with me. Paige, Jayme. Jayme, Paige."

"Hi," I said, waving at her.

"Hey."

"Come on, come on, let's go!" Willow cried, hopping from one foot to the other.

"Calm down, Wil. Teddy will still be there when we get there," Paige sid, grinning and Willow just rolled her eyes and ran out the door.

"So I hear you're dating Gordie," I said as Paige and I started walking along the sidewalk, with Willow a few yards ahead of us.

"Yeah. We started dating a week before Teddy and Willow. So paws off," she giggled. "Just kidding."

"Is that the treehouse?" I asked, pointing to it and Paige nodded. "Wow. You guys live really close."

"Yeah." Willow climbed up the ladder and Paige folowed and then I did. The gang was all here: Teddy, Chris, Gordie, and Vern.

"Heeeeyy, Wil!" Chris yelled, grinning. He looked up from their card game to see her take a seat on Teddy's lap.

"Hi," Paige said, giving Gordie a quick kiss before sitting on a small bench-type thing over by the winow.

"Wow. It's really cramped in here," I said and they turned to look at me, like they just noticed I was there. Oh look, I was invisible girl. Surprise.

"You guys remember Jayme, don't you?" Willow asked. "From the diner?"

"Oh yeah," Vern said.

"Hey," Chris said, and Teddy and Gordie simply smiled at me and went back to their card game.

"Hi."

There wasn't much talk after that, other than the guys swearing and calling each other wet ends. Willow sat on Teddy's lap and tried to help him with his cards. Paige read a magazine. I just watched the whole scene, trying to think of a more perfect moment to capture.

I came home around 5:30, just in time for dinner. My dad was beaming.

"Hey, J." He had been ecstatic over the phone when I told him I was going to hang out with some new friends.

"Hi, Dad."

"Want some dinner?" he asked, gesturing towards the plate of spaghetti on the table. I could tell he was trying to supporess his excitement.

"Sure." I grabbed the plate of spaghetti and settld down in front of the TV. Dad sat next to me.

"So what are your friends like?" he asked, trying to be casual. And failing.

"There's Willow. And her sister, Paige. And their boyfriends, Teddy and Gordie. Chris and Vern are the other two."

"What did you guys do?"

"Read magazines. Played cards. In their treehouse." I didn't mention all the swearing and smoking that had taken place.

"You don't play cards," my dad pointed out.

"I watched. It was fun."

"Well, good."

"Where's Maddie? And Uncle Roger and Aunt Melinda?" I asked, quickly, changing the subject.

"They went out to dinner, I think. It's Maddie's birthday."

"Oh yeah. I forgot."

"Me too," he said with a laugh. "So what are your friends' last names?" I shrugged.

"I don't know. I didn't ask." I set down my plate of finished spaghetti. "I'm gonna go to my room now, okay?"

"Okay," he said, nodding and I went up to the guest room that was now mine to think.


	47. I Love You's

TUESDAY

***Paige's POV***

It was the next morning and I was walking to school, a ways behind Teddy and Willow, kicking a can.

Willow was going over to Teddy's this Saturday and even though they both reassured me that they weren't gonna do it (Teddy was more upset about it than Willow), I knew they were gonna fool around and probably get to third.

Gordie and I had gotten to second already, but he didn't go around bragging about it like Teddy. God, sometimes my sister's boyfriend can be such a tool. Gordie was really sweet, and I liked him a lot...but I was starting to think that I loved him.

No. I _did_ love him. _But how do I say it?_ I thought, nervously. _What if he doesn't say it back? What if he breaks up with me?_

"Hey, Paige." I looked up and saw Gordie crossing the street and waving. I waved back and he slipped his hand into mine.

"Hey, what are you doing here? The middle school is half a mile away from the high school," I said, and Gordie shrugged.

"I figured I'd walk you.I don't feel like going to all my college courses in the morning, anyway." He grinned at me, but I just gave him a small smile.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied.

"Are you sure?"

"I don't...umm...I have to tell you something," I blurted out.

"Okay," Gordie said, slowly. "What is it?"

I took a deep breath. "I love you." I stared at my feet. Up at the sky. At Teddy and Willow, holding hands ahead of us. Anywhere but at Gordie.

"Oh."

"Oh?" I said, surprised by his reply.

"I, umm...I mean-"

"Gordie, you don't have to say it back if you don't want to. If you don't feel it yet," I said.

"Okay."

"I mean...Teddy and Willow started saying it the minute they got together...but I guess that's different-"

"You've gotta stop comparing what we have to what Teddy and Willow have," Gordie interrupted me.

I sighed. "I know. But I can't help it. I guess I'm just annoying sometimes."

Gordie laughed. "Yeah, but I love you, anyways." I stared up at him.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Aww!" I cried, jumping into his arms. "You're so romantic."

"I know."

"God, I love you."

"I love you, too."


	48. Getting High

WEDNESDAY

***Jayme's POV***

Willow and I headed back to her house after our shift the next day. We didn't talk much; Willow wasn't a chatterbox like Maddie. She only really talked to when she had something important to say.

"So, there any boys you like?" she asked as we turned onto her street. I considered telling her that I had taken a liking to her friend, Chris, but decided against it. If I told her, she would tell him, and I was really shy around guys-especially guys I like.

"I don't know. Not really," I replied.

"It took you a long fucking time to answer," she pointed out.

"I was thinking."

"Right." We neared her house and Willow broke into a run across the yard and to the front door. I ran after him.

"Where's Paige?" I asked, looking around the empty house while she rummaged around upstairs.

"With the guys," she called back. _But where are the guys? _I thought, but stayed silent. Willow ran back downstairs, shoving something in her pocket and putting a lighter in her bra. I figured it was a carton of cigarettes that she had put in her pocket and let it go.

"Are we going back to the treehouse?" I asked, but she ignored me an quickened her pace. I saw the treehouse come into view and also saw Paige watching a friendly game of football from the guys in the field below. The guys quickly broke apart the game once they saw us coming.

"Hey, handsome," Willow said to Teddy and gave him a quick kiss. Paige ran up to us, too.

"Hey. Did you bring it?" he asked and she nodded, and pulled out a brown bag wrapped tightly around something. _Fuck,_ I thought. _Is that what I think it is? We're not gonna get high, are we?_

"Sweet," Vern said, grinning. Willow pulled out the lighter and got right to work. I had managed to calm my nerves and convinced myself to not be a loser and just go with it.

But smoking marijuana wasn't as easy as it is in the movies. I coughed a lot and my eyes watered. This was my first time and everyone else could tell.

"Hey, Jayme, you okay?" Gordie asked. The pot was starting to make them loopy.

"Yeah. Fine," I lied.

"You've done this before, haven't you?" Chris asked me. "Cuz you don't have to..."

"No, no, it's okay," I said.

It was _more_ than okay. It was fucking awesome.

"This stuff is great!" I cried, running around the field just as the sprinklers turned on.

"Whoa!" Vern cried, giggling, and fell to the ground. Teddy and Willow broke apart from playing tonsil hockey to scream and chase each other around the wet field. Paige was lying weakly on the ground from laughing so hard and Gordie was trying to drink the sprinkler water.

I tripped over a shoelace and knocked Chris to the ground; I flopped on top of him.

"Oopsie!" I said, grinning. "Sorry."

"S'okay," he replied and we both stumbled to our feet.

"Is this gonna last forever?" I asked, happily and Chris answered,

"No. But I wish it did."


	49. Asking Her Out

THURSDAY

***Jayme's POV***

I was putting books into my locker after lunch when Chris approached me.

"Oh. Hi, Chris," I said, blushing. "What's up?"

"I...do you want to go out with me?" he blurted out. "Tomorrow night?"

"Uhmm...sure!" I cried and he grinned.

"Alright. Cool," Chris replied and turned and walked away.

***Vern's POV***

"Hey," I said, tapping Maddie on the shoulder and she turned around and smiled.

"Oh, hi, Vern," she said. We were standing behind the school just as the bell rang. "I've been waiting here forever!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Filler wouldn't let me out of class. Bitch," I replied.

"Yeah. Just hurry next time, okay?" I opened my mouth to say something, but she wrapped her arms around my neck. "I've been dying to see you. My friends are driving me crazy."

"Really? Why?" I asked.

"Oh no, it's nothing," she replied, quickly and kissed me softly.

"Hey, so I was thinking...maybe we could, you know, tell people that we're dating now," I suggested, nervously.

"I'm not sure," Maddie admitted. "Your friends, my friends, they'd all be...pissed."

"Yeah, but they're gonna find out eventually."

"Yeah, but...I mean..." she paused. "I'll think about it. Okay?" I grinned.

"Okay."


	50. Troubles at the Movies

FRIDAY

"It's fucking _Fridaaayy!"_ Willow shrieked, pumping her fists in the air as we left the school campus. "Freeesom!"

"We still have to go to work," I pointed out. "so you're not free yet."

"Don't try to bum me out," she argued and I tapped her shoulder.

"Can I tell you something?" I murmured.

"Yeah, sure. What's up, J?"

"Well, umm...Chris asked me out yesterday."

"Really? Alright, Chris!" Willow cried, grinning as we entered the diner. "What are you guys gonna do? Does he even know where you live?"

"I don't know and I don't think so. Should I talk to him?"

"Ehh, he'll be in here sooner or later." And sure enough, Chris walked into the diner fifteen minutes later with the guys.

"Hey, Jayme," he said, grinning. "Are we still on for tonight?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't we be? Anyway, here's my address." I pulled out a pen and scrawled it on a napkin, and then handed it to him.

"Cool, thanks. I was thinking we could go see a movie, but it's your call," Chris said.

"No...no, a movie sounds good," I replied, forcig myself to stay cool. "What do you want to see?"

"Your call-"

"Hey, Chambers, move it!" Teddy cried, clapping Chris on the back and dragging him over to the booth.

***Chris's POV***

It was around 7:00 and I left my house to go pick up Jayme. Willow had been bugging me to ask her out, and she _was_ pretty cute, but I wanted to meet her she seems nice, so I figured: why not?

I took the napkin with her address on it out of my pocket and gave it a quick glance. Something about it seemed familiar. _Whatever,_ I thought and started weaving my way through Castle Rock.

I started to drag my feet when I realized I was getting close to the rich part of town and dug the napkin out of my pocket again so I could check the address.

1800 Maple Drive...My face went pale and I stopped in my tracks. That was Maddie's address.

_But that's impossible,_ I thought. _Willow told me Jayme's only sister was in college...and her last name starts with a G or something. Guchini? Yeah. Not Faulkner._

A memory popped into my brain: _"Hey, Jayme, where do you live?" Willow asked while we were all up in the treehouse. "I'm bored as hell, let's go back to your place."_

_"With my cousin," she replied. "My dad and I are staying there for a few weeks until we can get our own house."_

_Her cousin,_ I thought, numbly. _If Jayme and I get married, I'm gonna be related to Maddie. This is a fucking disaster._

I checked my watch: 7:08. I couldn't just stand her up, so I kept myself moving. What would it be like seeing Maddie again? Sure, I'd seen her in the hallways at school but we never talked. I bet, 'I'm going on a date with your cousin' will be a good icebreaker.

I was now on Maddie's street and approaching her house; I could see the people in this neighborhood looking at me strange. Probably thinking, _What is he doing here?_ They without a doubt remembered me from when I would come here to see Maddie.

_What if this is a bad idea?_ I thought, panicking. _What if we end up just like me and Maddie did? What if her family looks at me like this my whole life?_ But I was on the porch already. I was ringing the doorbell.

"Hey, Chris," Jayme said, nervously as she opened the door. SHe had on a nice t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Like me.

"Hey," I replied and searched behind her, looking for Maddie's face. "Is anyone else home?"

"What? No. My dad's at work and my aunt and uncle are...at work. My cousin is at a friend's house." I let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay. Cool. You ready to go?"

"Yeah." She shut the door behind her and we started walking towards the theatre. "So what are we seeing?"

"Whatever you wanna see."

"I don't really know what's playing, but we could look when he get there."

"Okay."

***Vern's POV***

"Maddie, hey," I said when I saw her waiting outside the movie theatre.

"Vern! Hi!" she cried and greeted me with a kiss. "Are you ready?" I nodded and we bought our tickets and popcorn and went insie the theatre.

"Where do you want to sit?" I asked but Maddie was frozen. "What's the matter?"

"Is that-is that Chris? With _Jayme?_"

"Yeah! She's the new girl, you know her? He asked her out yesterday. So, anyway, seats..." But she was still staring at them, who had sat down with their popcorn and were laughing and talking. "What's wrong?"

"Jayme...she's my cousin."

"Ohh...that's rough. You wanna just get outta here?" I asked and she nodded.

***Chris's POV***

It was after the movie and I had walked Jayme home, and now I was climbing up the ladder to the treehouse.

"Chris! How'd your date go?" Paige asked. Everyone was up here.

"Okay," I replied. "Jayme's nice...and cool. Pretty funny. I just found one flaw."

"Oh, Jesus Christ, Chris, what is it?" Willow asked, rolling her eyes.

"She's Maddie's cousin." Everyone froze.


	51. Just Sex

SATURDAY

***Willow' POV***

I peeked out the window and saw Mrs. Duchamp pull out of the driveway, waving to Teddy, who was inside the house. When her car was no longer in view, I called up the stairs to let Paige know that I was leaving and then ran out th door.

_I don't know why I was so nervous before,_ I thought as I ran up to Teddy's porch. _This is gonna be awesome!_ But I knew I was only thinking this because Teddy had promised me that we wouldn't have sex.

I knocked on the door and Teddy answered it almost right away. "Hey, beautiful," he said, grinning and I jumped into his arms.

"Hey, baby," I replied between kisses and he clumsily shut the front door and made his way towards the stairs.

"Hey, hey, relax, we have all day," Teddy said, climbing the stairs and throwing me down on his bed.

"When does your mom get back?" I asked and Teddy climbed on top of me.

"Around 10:00 tonight." It was around noon.

"Good."

Teddy and I were kissing under the covers, with both of our shirts off. My bra was lying on the floor, too.

Teddy moved his hand from my breast down to my waist, and kept going to the button on my jeans. He slid his hand in my underwear and I giggled into his mouth while he fingered me.

"I'm glad I'm doing this right," Teddy murmured and I giggled again.

"Yep. You're a natural." We kissed for a little while longer and then I pulled away.

"What's wrong?" he asked and I shook my head.

"Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reassured him and we went back to making out. I fiddled with his jeans and felt his boxers underneath, running my fingers along the hemline. I dipped my hand into his boxers and caressed his penis, and then gave him a handjob.

Teddy moaned, softly into my lips and gripped my arm harder. I gave him another quick handjob and then took my hand out of his pants.

"You...are the best girlfriend..._ever,_" Teddy gasped and I smiled into his lips.

"I know."

Teddy and I made out for a little while longer, but eventually stopped to go make ourselves some lunch. Right now I was in the shower while Teddy searched for something good to watch on TV.

"Hey, I think I left my dog tags in here when _I_ took a shower," I heard Teddy say and I heard him walk across the bathroom.

"Okay," I replied.

"TEDDY? IT'S MOM!" Mrs. Duchamp called from the stairs and I froze.

"Crap! What's your mom doing home?" I hissed and I heard her walking towards the bathroom door.

"Teddy? Are you in there? I must have been walfway to Togus when I realized I left my wallet at home!" She knocked on the door. "I think my wallet's in there with my make-up!"

"Uhh...I'm in the shower, Mom!" Teddy cried, panicky.

"I know, I know, just let me get it real quick!" she said and I heard the doorknob rattlle. I threw open the shower curtain and dragged Teddy inside the shower with me, and shut the curtain again just as the door flew open.

"Great, here it is," Mrs. Duchamp said and Teddy put his hand over my mouth. "Alright, bye, hon!" The door closed and I tried to listen for her footsteps, but I glanced over at Teddy, who was too busy staring at me-more like my body.

"Teddy..." I started, pushing his hand away from my mouth but he launched his lips onto mine.

"You are _so_ beautiful," he murmured, his hands running over my back.

"Teddy..." I repeated, grabbing a fistful of his shirt but ended up helping him pull it off and continued, until we were both naked.

"I love you," Teddy whispered.

"I love you, too," I replied as he put himself inside me. I let out a small gasp and wrapped my arms around him as he thrusted, gently and the hot, steamy water poured all over our skin. That's when I realized something. Sex wasn't beautiful or magical, it was just sex. But I wouldn't want to have 'just sex' with anyone but Teddy.


	52. Depression & Threats

SUNDAY

***Maddie's POV***

"Maddie, _please_ unlock the door!" my dad begged, knocking on the door.

"Leave me alone!" I cried, angrily.

"Come on, Madikins, we're worried about you!" It was Mom this time.

"I'm _fine, _you guys! Just _go away!_" I snapped and there was silence on the other side of the door.

"Well...come find us if you need to talk," Mom said, quietly and I heard them walking away.

_Yeah, right,_ I thought, sourly. _If I need someone to talk to, I'll just call up Bianca or Vicky or Sara._

The shrill ringing of the phone interrupted my thoughts and I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Maddie? Is that you?" I sat up, alarmed.

"Vern! I told you _never_ to call here!" I cried.

"I know...but I wanted to talk to you, and it seems like you're avoidin me...I dunno, maybe I'm crazy. Anyway, are you sure you're okay with the whole thing with Chris and Jayme?"

"I-no," I admitted and there was silence on the other end of the phone. "Vern, I think we should break up."

"What? Why?" he asked, panicky and I sighed.

"Because I'm obviously not completely over Chris and I'm just not ready for a boyfriend right now. I'm sorry, Vern. And I mean, we're not right for each other, anyway! We have nothing in common and we _had_ to have seen this coming-"

"Bye, Maddie," he murmured, and hung up. I sighed and hung up, too. Now that that was taken care of...

"Uncle Roger? Aunt Melinda, are you guys home?" Jayme called, the door slaming shut and my hands curled into fists.

"Oh, _hi,_ Jayme! Where have you been?" Mom asked her from the kitchen and I crept out of my room and down the hall to eavesdrop.

"At the diner for my shift," she replied.

"I thought your shift ended a few hours ago!" Mom cried.

"It did, but I was hanging out with some friends afterwards." _With Chris, probably,_ I thought, angrily.

"Oh, good!"

"So, where's Da-?" Jayme started, but I walked out into the kitchen.

"Maddie! Are you alright?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, Mom," I said, brushing her off. "Jayme, can I talk to you in my room?"

"Umm...okay," she said, uneasily and followed me to my room. I slammed the door shut and turned to face her.

"What the fuck is the matter with you?" I shouted and she froze.

"What?"

"I _know_ you're dating Chris! How could you _do that to me?_ Chris is my ex, you _can't_ date my ex!"

"Maddie...I didn't know..." she stammered.

"Well, I'd _better not_ see you with him again!" I threatened and stormed out.

The next day I seatched for Chris in the hallways: two pests down, one hottie to go. I finally saw the blonde head walking through the halls and I dragged him to the side.

"Wha-? Maddie?" he asked.

"Why are you dating my cousin?" I snapped and he frowned.

"I didn't know she was your cousin when I asked her out."

"_You_ asked _her_ out? It's only been three months since we broke up!" I cried, hurt.

"Yeah, Maddie. It's been _three months_ since we broke up! I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but I've moved on and you should, too." He turned to walk away, but I grabbed his arm.

"Who do you think you are? I _am_ over you! But _excuse me_ if I'm a little hurt to find out that my _ex_ is dating my _cousin!_"

"I'm gonna date Jayme if I want. You can't stop me," Chris said and broke away from my grip to walk away from me.


	53. Vern's Betrayal

***Jayme's POV***

I was at school the next day, in the lunch line. I usually sat with Willow and all them, but after what Maddie said... _Damn, I didn't know Chris was her ex!_ I thought, helplessly.

"Hey, uhh...Jayme, can I talk to you?" I turned around and it was Chris.

"Yeah, sure." We walked out of the lunch line and a little bit away from the cafeteria.

"Look, I didn't know if you knew this, but your cousin and I used to go out. And when she found out I was dating you, she sorta freaked out-" he started, but I cut him off.

"She talked to you about us?"

"Yelled is more like it."

"She did the same thing to me, too! She said if I ever went near you again, she's kill me," I said and Chris looked shocked.

"Really? She said she'd kill you?"

"Well...no, but I could see it in those crazy eyes of hers," I joked and he grinned.

"Ya' know, Jayme, I would really like to keep dating you. Screw Maddie. Whaddaya say?" I shrugged.

"Sure." He leaned over and kissed me, and it was a looong kiss. My first, in fact. But I probably wouldn't tell him that for a long time.

***Willow's POV***

I was sitting at the lunch table with Teddy, Gordie, and a very depressed Vern. Chris was talking to Jayme.

"Hey, Vern-o, what's wrong?" I asked, frowning.

"Nothing," he replied, sadly, but I didn't buy it. And neither did Teddy and Gordie.

"Come on, man, just tell us," Gordie pushed and Vern sighed.

"Well...you guys all have girlfriends, even Chris does now. And Teddy and Willow just did it-"

"_Teddy!_" I moaned. "You _told_ them?"

"I couldn't help it," Teddy replied.

"You know how he likes to brag," Gordie commented and Teddy frogged him.

"What were you saying, Vern?" I asked.

"I'm just bummed cuz..." he paused. "my girlfriend dumped me."

"GIRLFRIEND?" we all cried as Chris and Jayme approached the table with their lunches.

"What about a girlfriend?" Chris asked as he sat down next to Gordie and Jayme sat next to me.

"Vern just said that his _girlfriend_ dumped him! What girlfriend, Vern-o?" Gordie asked and Teddy scoffed.

"Imaginary girlfriend is more like it."

"Shut up, Teddy," I said.

"Who was your girlfriend?" Chris asked.

"Umm...it really doesn't matter now, cuz she dumped me," Vern said, uneasily.

"Tell us, Vern, or I'll kick you in the nuts!" I threatened and everyone snickered.

"It was Maddie, okay?"

"MADDIE?" Teddy, Gordie, and I yelled.

"Maddie?" Jayme asked, weakly.

"You're dating...Maddie?" Chris snarled, angrily.

"Was," Vern offered, shrinking away from the blonde boy.

"How could you date _Maddie?_ You can't date your friend's ex, it's against the code!" Chris cried and I nodded.

"It's true, Vern. If it's in the code for boys _and_ girls, it must be serious."

"I guess...you can kind of get why Maddie's so mad now, right, Chris?" Jayme asked, and Chris turned to look at her.

"Oh, umm...yeah. I guess so...sort of."

"Wait, Maddie knows you guys are dating? You're gonna have to fill us in, dude," Teddy said and Jayme started to explain while Chris tried-for Jayme's sake-not to glare at Vern.

"I can't believe Vern was dating Maddie this whole time and we never knew it," I said. Teddy and I were watching TV at his house and his head was on my lap.

"I know. _Vern_ got _Maddie?_ I figured that if she wanted to date beneath Chris, she would pick someone better looking. Like me." I smacked him. "Ow!"

"You and Maddie? Ha!" I cried and he twisted his head to look up at me.

"It could happen!"

"Are you sure you want it to? Even hypothetically? I mean, she's the devil, man!" I said and Teddy shrugged.

"That's true."

We were both quiet for a while as we watched TV.

"You don't _really_ want Maddie, do you?" I asked him. I wasn't sure why, but the whole conversation made me...what's the word?...insecure.

"No, of course not. I love you," Teddy said and reached up to brush a lock of hair out of my eyes.

"Is your mom home?" I asked and Teddy smirked and shook his head.

"At work."

"Let's do it!" I yelled and he practically mauled me; I giggled while he kissed my neck and pressed him closer to me.


	54. Just One Kiss

***Willow's POV***

I was sitting up in the treehouse with the guys, watching them play cards. I had moved my guitar back to my house, because as we got older, the treehouse seemed to get more and more cramped.

"Ha! Fucking A!" Teddy yelled, happily and scooped the small pile of cigarettes into his lap.

"Aah, whatever, man," Gordie grumbled and leaned back.

"Another round, man, come on," Chris said, dealing the cards but Teddy grinned and shook his head.

"No way! I wanna keep these."

"You're just too cheap to buy your own cigarettes," Vern said with a grin and Teddy chucked one at him.

"Shut the fuck up, Vern-o."

"Yeah, shut up, Vern-o," Chris agreed, sourly and Vern rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on, Chris, you're not still mad at me about the whole Maddie thing, are you? You're with Jayme now."

"Yeah, I know," Chris muttered.

"So...are we cool?" Vern asked and Chris pondered this.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Okay, good. I have to get home, guys, I'll see you later," Vern said and left the treehouse. One by one, all of the boys left, too, until it was just me and Chris.

"So...are you sure you're cool with Vern having dated your ex?" I asked.

Chris shrugged. "I dunno. I don't still like her, that's for sure. And I _am_ with Jayme now, so I kinda don't wanna do or say something that will mess _that_ up."

"I know what you mean," I said and Chris looked at me.

"You do?"

"Yeah. I mean...Maddie used to be a big part of your life. And your...and your feelings for her-as small as they might be!-never really went away after all these years. Even if...even if you thought they did. Because you're with Jayme now and _I'm_ with Teddy-I mean, Maddie..." I stammered and Chris softly pressed his lips against mine. How had he known that I was talking about him and me?

"No!" was the first word out of Chris's mouth after he pulled away. "_No!_"

"Oh My God. Oh My God, you're right! We can't do this," I said and Chris nodded, vigorously and stumbled away from me.

"After all this drama with Maddie...I can't mess everything that Jayme and I have just because of some...small feelings that I _might_ have for you."

I nodded. "And I love Teddy. I can't..." I kissed him again. "_Fuck!_"

"Teddy's one of my best friends," Chris said.

"And I don't want to hurt Jayme." We both sat in silence for a little while, feeling sick about what we had done. What we were feeling. "I'm gonna go find Teddy." Chris nodded as I climbed down the ladder to the treehouse and broke into a run across the field, feeling someone's eyes on me. Probably Chris's.


	55. Spilling the Beans

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS EARLIER

***Paige's POV***

I was making out with Gordie on my bed when his hand moved to the waistline of my jeans, signaling the end of our make-out session. Gordie was a nice guy, but he was still a guy.

"Wait, Gordie. Come on, I'm not ready. You know that," I said, grabbing his hand and he looked at me funny.

"I'm just really surprised that you aren't trying to compete with Teddy and Willow," he said and I frowned.

"I told you that I'm not doing that anymore. Why would you think that?" I asked, sitting up.

"Uhh...cuz Teddy and Willow had sex..." I was in shock. "when she went over to his house last week."

_That's not true. It can't be true! Willow would have told me,_ I thought. "Teddy was probably just lying to you guys. You know how he is," I said and Gordie looked more concerned.

"Umm...no, Willow said it was true. Didn't she...tell you?"

"No!" I cried, upset. "She didn't say _shit_ to me about it! Goddammit, she fucking told me that they wouldn't do anything! She promised!"

"Paige, calm down. I know you're upset, but...Willow said that they weren't planning on it. It just sorta happened. A spur of the moment thing," Gordie tried to convince me.

"Then why didn't she tell me? I'm her _sister,_ we tell each other everything!"

"I...I dunno. You'll have to ask Wil about that." I could tell he didn't wanna get in the middle of the drama between me and my sister.

"Oh, I will," I murmured.

That leads to present time when I am quietly climbing up the ladder to the treehouse to talk to Willow. I started to open the compartment when I froze. _Is that...Chris and Willow?_ They were kissing. I quietly shut the compartment and quickly made my way down the ladder. I hid behind the tree, just incase one of them came down the ladder.

_What about Jayme and Teddy? Don't they care about them? Would Gordie ever do that to me? God, you can't fucking trust _anyone! I thought, as hot angry tears threatened to spill over. Willow came barelling down the ladder, looking panicked. She took off in a run towards our house and I angrily glared after her. _Going to see Teddy, no doubt. What a whore._ I had never hated her more than right now. Teddy practically worshipped her-how could she betray his trust like that? _She doesn't deserve him._

I took off in a run, too, after Willow. I threw open the door to my house and called, "Willow? You here?"

"Paige?" It was my mom.

"Hi, Mom," I said, sadly, shutting the door and collapsing on the couch.

"I think Willow's at Teddy's. She should be home soon," Mom said, coming out to the living room in a skanky outfit.

"You going to work?" I asked, shuddering as I thought of her "job".

"Yes. You'll be okay here by yourself?"

"I'll be fine," I answered, coldly and she left. As soon as I saw her car turn the corner, I jumped up and stomped next door. I pounded on the door and Mrs. Duchamp answered.

"Oh, hi, Paige. Are you looking for Willow?" she asked and I nodded.

"Can I come in?"

"Oh, sure. They're up in Teddy's room." I raised my eyebrows. She trusted two horny teenagers to be alone in her son's bedroom? I climbed the stairs two at a time and threw open the door to Teddy's room, interrupting their hot and heavy make-out session.

"Paige! What the hell are you doing here?" Willow asked, shocked and a little angry.

"Teddy, I think there's something you should know," I announced and the brunette turned to stare at me.

"Huh?"

"She's cheating on you!" I yelled, pointing at Willow and she went pale. "With _Chris!_"


	56. One Mistake Can Ruin Everything

***Willow's POV***

Paige turned on her heel and stomped out of the Duchamp house and both of us were frozen for a while.

"What did she say?" Teddy asked and all my words got caught in my throat. _It was one kiss. Well, two, but that's not the point! I love Teddy more than anything... _Tears sprang to my eyes. Please_ God, don't let me screw this up._

"Teddy..." I trailed off and Teddy stared at me, his mouth hanging open.

"She was telling the truth?"

"No, Teddy...I mean yes...it didn't mean anything! It was _one_ kiss, okay? But it will _never_ happen again, I promise! You _have_ to believe me, Teddy Bear," I begged, but all the color disappeared from Teddy's face and he seemed frozen. "...Teddy?"

"Get out," he said, hoarsely.

"Teddy-"

"_Now!_" he snapped, angrily and I quietly got up and headed towards the door. I didn't dare turn back. I walked down the stairs and Mrs. Duchamp smiled happily at me.

"Oh, Willow, you're leaving so soon?"

"Yeah. I have to get home," I murmured, trying so hard not to cry in front of her. In front of anybody. I fled from that house and ran across town. I couldn't go home, Paige would be waiting for me there and I _really_ didn't want to deal with my bitch of a sister. My only option was to go to the treehouse. Chris had probably left.

Clumsily, I climbed up the ladder and climbed into the treehouse. Sure enough, no one was there. I collapsed onto the floor and burst into tears. I was such a fucking idiot. Teddy and Jayme would hate me and Chris and I would never be able to look at each other normally again.

"I'm so sorry, Teddy," I sobbed, even though I knew he couldn't hear me. "Please forgive me." Sobs wracked my body, and I could barely catch my breath. Teddy was the most important thing in my life right now and the thought of him breaking up with me was like him reaching inside me and yanking out a huge part of who I was. It sounded corny, but it was true.

"Fucking Paige. Why did she have to go tell him?" I murmured. "Things with Chris and I wouldn't have gone any further, but she fucking blew it. I hate her." _I hate everyone,_ I thought, sourly.

***Jayme's POV***

I flung myself onto the bed and buried my face in my pillow and cried. Paige had just left. I couldn't believe that Chris and Willow would both betray me like that.

"Did Paige leave yet?" Maddie asked and I lifted my tear-stained face to look at her, smirking at me in the doorway. "I heard what she said. Man, tough break. Chris never cheated on _me._ What does that say about yo-?" she started, but I cut her off.

"Oh My God, shut the _fuck_ up, Maddie!" I cried and she looked like she had been slapped. "Rot in hell, bitch." I could tell she had never had someone stand up to her like that. _Especially_ me.

***Paige's POV***

Gordie and I were making out on my bed. I had invited him over after I spilled the news to Teddy and Jayme. I sighed and pulled away from my boyfriend, who looked at me, curiously.

"What's wrong?"

"I know some people who did something..._really_ bad. But I think I did something bad, too," I admitted.

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw Chris and Willow kiss-"

"No way," Gordie interrupted me.

"They _did,_ Gordie. And I..." I looked away. "I told Teddy and Jayme."

"You did?" His voice was like a whisper.

"Yeah. I-I was _really_ mad when I told them, I just couldn't stop myself, and now I'm starting to think that I really shouldn't have told them. I feel like crap."

"Well how do you think Teddy and Willow, and Chris and Jayme feel?" Gordie asked and I glared at him.

"You're not helping."

"Sorry." We were quiet for a while, and I suddenly realized that no one was home. When Gordie and I were alone, I sometimes felt nervous because I wasn't sure how far we would go, but right now I found myself totally relaxed. I was...ready.

"Gordie, do you ever think about sex...like, with me?" I asked and he blushed.

"Umm...no?" I giggled.

"You can tell me. Because...I mean, girls think about sex, too, ya' know," I said and he blinked in shock.

"Uh, yeah, sure they do. Where, uh, where are you goin' with this, Paige?" he asked and I leaned over to kiss him.

"I think you already know."


	57. Forgiveness

***Third Person: Teddy's POV***

Teddy was lying on his bed, smoking a cigarette, watching as the smoke went higher and higher. He knew it was risky to smoke in the house, because his mom didn't know of his bad habit, but he just didn't give a fuck. Everything else in his life had gone completely wrong, what's one more thing?

_I fucking can't believe Chris touched my girlfriend,_ he thought, angrily, curling his hand into a fist. _I oughta beat the shit outta him._ Teddy preferred to think about how angry he was at Chris than think about Willow. It hurt too much to think about Willow. He let out a sigh and flicked the cigarette out the window. It was a pretty nice shot.

Teddy could see Willow's room from where he was laying and couldn't help but glance up there. The room was empty. _She's probably at the diner, it's her shift,_ he thought, but tried to shake away any thoughts about her. _Don't think about Willow. Don't think about Willow. Don't think abo-damn._ Teddy stared up at her empty room, his stomach sinking and sinking, and his heart hurt. He had loved her ever since he was four, he couldn't expect to get over her anytime soon. *Do I _want_ to get over her?*

With a sigh, Teddy got up from his bed and out the front door. He made his way to the diner and stood outside it for a good five minutes before he decided to go inside. He sat down at the booth that he and the guys usually sat at and stared at Willow, over at the counter. Jayme wasn't there, so he assumed she changed shifts.

"Willow! We got a customer!" Bertie cried, gesturing to him and Willow looked up.

"Teddy!" she cried, running over to his booth. "You're...you're here."

"I'll have the usual," he murmured, running a hand through his hair and she shoved her hands in her pockets and stared at her feet.

"Umm...okay." She turned to walk back to the counter when he asked,

"Why'd you do it?" It hurt just to think about it, so he didn't know _why_ he was talking about it. She turned back around, looking sad.

"I-I don't know. It was just this teeny tiny little crush that I've had since we were kids, and I dunno. I wasn't thinking...I wasn't thinking about what I could lose."

"But with _Chris?_ And right after we..." he trailed off, trying to fight back tears. Willow sat down next to him in the booth, even though her break wasn't for another 20 minutes.

"It had _nothing_ to do with that, Teddy! That...was _great._ And this whole stupid thing with Chris will never happen again, I _promise!_ I love _you_ and I always have." Teddy tried to find words, but he couldn't. "Please forgive me?" At a loss for words, he pressed his lips against hers. She seemed surprised, but then immediately started to kiss him back.

"Get a room!" some people in the diner shouted, followed by gagging noises.

"WILLOW! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING!" Bertie cried, frantically, as the lunch rush started to come in and the two pulled apart.

"I forgive you," Teddy said and she smiled.

"Good. I'll talk to you when my shift is over, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed and she ran over to the counter. He watched her go, smiling. Of course he forgave her, he had to. And besides, he trusted her when she said it would never happen again.

***Jayme's POV***

I watched Teddy and Willow kiss in the diner from across the street and anger boiled up in my stomach. Of course everything would work out for Willow. But what about me? I wanted to move away again, to escape all of my pain and problems, but a bigger part of me felt like I needed to stay.

"Jayme..." I turned around and saw Chris standing behind me.

"Oh. Hi," I said, coldly.

"So I guess it's true...Paige _did_ blab to everyone," he murmured and I glared at him.

"What do you want?" I asked, angrily and I could see him watching Teddy and Willow kiss in the diner, too.

"To ask you to _please_ forgive me. I know that I really don't deserve it, but I'm not like that, really, and I feel awful about what happened," he explained.

"But...Chris, we _just_ started dating and then you cheated on me. What does that say about...our future?" I asked and he frowned.

"Jayme, I promise..."

"...it will never happen again, I know."

"Jayme, I'm _so_ sorry, and it was just one kiss. Nothing else happened and nothing else _will_ happen with me and anyone else as long as we're together. I swear on my mother's grave." I studied him, carefully, debating on whether I should believe him or not.

I sighed. "Okay. I-I _guess_ I forgive you-"

"Hey, Chambers!" We both turned to see Teddy stomping across the street, looking extremely pissed. "I oughta beat the piss outta you!"

"Yeah, I know," he said, and braced himself to be hit. Teddy angrily raised his fist, and a part of me expected it to be like in the movies where Teddy would decide not to hit Chris, and Chris would apologize and it would be okay.

But it didn't happen that way. Teddy punched Chris square in the nose and he stumbled backwards, covering his blackened nose, which was now squirting blood.

"Crap! I think you broke my nose!" Chris cried and Teddy glared at him.

"Good! Maybe that will teach you to think before putting your hands on my girl!" Teddy stomped away and I rushed to Chris's side.

"Do you need me to take you to the hospital?" I asked and he replied,

"Naah. I've gotten hit worse than this by my old man." I felt cold and clammy and dead inside. _Chris's dad beats him? For real?_

"You should still have that checked out. I'll take you, it's no big deal."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

***Paige's POV***

Willow came home from the diner and threw her jacket onto the couch next to me.

"Hey," she said, happily.

"What are you so happy about?" I asked. "Did you and Teddy work things out?"

"Uh-huh," she replied, nodding. "I'm gonna be at his house this weekend, so don't worry 'bout me when I'm gone."

"The...whole weekend?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yep. Why?"

"Just wondering." I tried to be cool, but inside I was jumping with excitement. With Willow _and_ my mom gone the entire weekend, it would give me and Gordie time to be alone. I was pretty sure he was out buying condums right now. I thought about taking some from Willow, but she either A) used them all or B) would notice they were gone, so I sent Gordie out for some. _Wow, I guess everyone's gonna be having sex this weekend, huh?_


	58. Big Changes

***Paige's POV***

"Hey, Paige, I'm gonna take off now, kaay?" Willow said, bouncing down the stairs. It was weird, cuz I'd never seen Willow _bounce_ before.

"Kaay."

"I'll be next door if you need me. But don't need me."

I giggled. "I won't."

"Alright. Later," she said and left. I waited until she was over at Teddy's for a good fifteen minutes (incase she forgot something) before I called Gordie.

"Hey, baby. Willow left a while ago. You wanna come over now?"

"Sure, I'll be right there."

"Can't wait." I hung up the phone and ran upstairs, to my bedroom. I had a few unlit candles and my bed was made up nicely. I snuck into Willow's room to look for her lighter, but she must have taken it with her. _Dammit, Willow._

I heard a knock on the back door and I ran downstairs. I opened the door and let Gordie inside. "Why didn't you come in the front?"

"And risk Willow seeing me? Yeah right," he replied.

"Oh right. Good thinking," I said and then asked, "Do you have a lighter on you?"

"Yeah. Why?" Gordie pulled it out and I took it from him.

"You'll see." I led him upstairs to my room and shut the door once we were inside.

"Wow."

"I know," I agreed and lit the candles. I flipped the lighter shut and gave it back to him. We both sat down on the bed and started to make out, and then we laid down. Things started to get hot and heavy and we started to remove our clothing.

"I love you," he whispered as he put himself inside of me and I squeezed my eyes shut. _Damn, that hurts._

"I love you, too," I gasped and leaned over to kiss him again.

***Jayme's POV***

"I just don't think it would be a good idea if you stayed here any longer. You two need to be able to stand up on your own! I know you can do it, you just need a little push. And what kind of family would we be if we didn't give you that push?" That's what Aunt Melinda said when she kicked us out of her house. Well, she technically didn't "kick us out" because she helped us find a new (really cheap) house to live in. My dad was confused at the sudden cold shoulder, but I knew that Maddie was using this to get revenge on me after what I said to her the other day.

"This'll be good for us, kiddo," Dad said as we started to load our boxes into the back of our truck.

"Yeah, I know," I agreed, but I wasn't so sure. Neither of us had even seen the new house yet.

"Hey, Jayme." My dad and I turned around to see Chris walking up the driveway. "What are you doing?"

"Packing up our stuff. We're moving into our own house today," I replied, and tried not to look at my dad.

"You need any help?" he asked.

"Sure," I said and Chris helped me load a few of the heavier boxes. "Thanks."

"No problem. So where's the new house?"

"Not sure yet. We don't even know what it looks like."

"Oh wow. I'd love to hear about it when you see it."

"I know where to find you," I said, grinning. _The diner and the treehouse._ I had to start my shift at the diner soon, anyway. Today was the first day that Willow and I were on the same shift again and I was eager to make up with her.

Chris leaned over to kiss me, but then glanced at my father and kissed me on the cheek instead, before leaving.

"Who was that?" Dad asked as we got into the truck.

"Chris Chambers. He's my...boyfriend," I answered.

"_Boyfriend?_" he cried, and I nodded.

"Yeah. I met him through Willow." Dad looked skeptical. "He's _nice,_ Daddy. I really like him."

"I just don't want my baby girl to get hurt," he said, smiling at me.

"Chris is different," I reassured him. I decided to leave out the whole part about him cheating on me three days into our relationship.


	59. Big Sister Finds Out

***Willow's POV***

"Can't you stay just a little longer?" Teddy begged, trying to keep me from getting up from the bed.

"I can't!" I argued. "My shift starts in five minutes and I can't be late!" Teddy wrapped his arms around my waist and squeezed my body against his.

"Don't gooo!" he whined, kissing my neck and I giggled.

"Teddy, I have to! My shift starts in ten minutes!"

"Come on, what are the chances that my mom will be out of town two weekends in a row? Call Bertie and tell him you'll make it up to him," Teddy tried to convince me and I sighed.

"I just have to run next door to get some more condums," I said and he grinned.

"Yay."

I rolled my eyes and got up from the bed.

"You'd better not be tricking me," Teddy said but I just left to go next door.

"Paige? You home?" I called, but there was no answer. I grabbed some condums from my room and passed Paige's room on my way to the stairs, and the door was closed. _I should check on her._ I knocked on the door, and then opened it. There was Gordie and Paige..._having sex._

"Willow! What are you doing home?" Paige asked, nervously.

"Wil..." Gordie trailed off.

"GORDIE, YOU MOTHERFUCKING PIECE OF SHIT! GET _AWAY_ FROM MY BABY SISTER!" I screamed and dragged him out of the bed by his hair.

"Wil, wait!" he yelped and I kicked him square in his unprotected testicles; he went down with a groan.

"Wil! Stop!" Paige cried, jumping out of bed, covering her naked body with a blanket.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing? You can't have sex!" I shrieked, angrily.

"Why not? You did!" she cried, leaning down to help Gordie up.

"Paige, you're _fourteen!_ You're only in the eighth grade! Did you even _think_ about what could happen?"

"I bought condums," she replied and my jaw dropped.

"Paige...do you know who started having sex when she was your age? _Mom!_ Look at how she ended up!"

"Wil, you're only _one year older than me!_ You're such a fucking hypocrit!"

"A year makes a big difference! And everything that you're saying right now proves it! You don't know _anything!_ You're so naive that it's not even funny!" I glared at Gordie, who was groaning and holding his nuts. "Put some clothes on and get out." He did so, and then Paige and I were alone.

"I was _ready._ I don't care how old I am or when Mom started having sex. I was ready and Gordie and I love each other. I don't know what else to say to you," she said, calmly.

"I just don't want you to regret this."

"You know Gordie better than anyone. You _know_ he would never take advantage of me."

"I _know_ that, but he's still a guy!"

Paige looked puzzled. "So what, do you think that Gordie's gonna dump me now?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I just know that everything changes when you have sex, and I didn't want that to happen to you."

"What are you talking about?"

"What about the next time you have sex? And the next and the next? Are you prepared for that?" She shook her head. "That's the difference between me and you! I was fully prepared before I even considered having sex! I had condums and birth control, because I _know_ that no matter how good of a guy Teddy is, he's still a high school horndog. _That's_ what I mean by you being naive." Her face fell.

"Oh."

"You're my baby sister, Paige. I don't want you to get pregnant during high school like Mom did."

"I won't," she reassured me.

"Fuck you won't. Not with me around."


	60. Reliving the Past

**SUMMERTIME**

Cut to the summer, where all the drama of the school year is long gone. Teddy and Willow's, and Gordie and Paige's relationships are better than ever, and Chris and Jayme just had sex, or "proved their love to each other" as Paige liked to call it. Even Vern had a new girlfriend named Cindy, and everyone was as happy as could be.

Gordie, Chris, Teddy, Vern, Willow, and Jayme are approaching their sophomore year of high school and Paige is gonna be a freshman.

Willow was standing in the middle of the dark place, her hands shoved in her pockets, staring down. It was early in the morning, and the sun had just started to come up. Dew was on the grass and the cold air made her shiver.

She was staring down at the gravestone with the name RAYMOND BROWER etched into the stone and flowers on the grave. Her mind wandered back to that summer three years ago. Things were so simple then. But now...everything was different. Sometimes she just wished that she could go back to that summer one more time, to have that one taste of innocence one more time.

And then an idea sparked in that mind of hers and a grin grew on her face. She knelt down and placed a bouquet of flowers on the grave before turning and running out of the graveyard.

"You guys! You guys!" she cried, as she climbed up the ladder to the treehouse. "I just had the _greatest_ idea ever!" The four boys took a break from their card game to look at her.

"What is it?" Chris asked and Teddy offered her a cigarette, but she shook her head.

"Do you remember when we found Ray Brower all those summers ago? Well...what if we went back? To the place where we found him? I know it sounds stupid, but it will sorta be like...I dunno, revisiting all the good times." She expected them to laugh at her and tell her it was the stupidest thing they had ever heard, but they didn't.

"You mean like...trying to make everything the same as it was in that weekend?" Teddy asked, and I nodded.

"And we can...we can invite Jayme and Paige, and _Cindy,_ too! And _not_ invite Maddie as a symbol of also celebrating things that are different for a good thing!" I agreed.

"That sounds...deep, Wil. But really cool," Gordie said and we all started, grinning stupidly.

"This is gonna be awesome!" Vern yelled and Chris nodded.

"Fucking A!"

Willow gathered up Paige and Jayme, and they even got Cindy to come along with them. Cindy had strawberry-blonde hair and freckles, and a pretty smile. She was nice and Willow liked her well enough, so she wouldn't mind having her come along.

"You guys ready?" Willow asked.

"Hell yeah!" Jayme cried with a grin.

"This is gonna be so cool!" Paige agreed, happily. Willow remembered how bummed Paige had been that she wasn't able to go along when she told her the story last year. Cindy just smiled and nodded, and Willow could tell she felt out of the loop.

"You ready, Cindy?" she asked and the girl smiled and nodded again.

"Yeah." She was shy, just like Jayme had been when Willow first met her, but Willow had brought the brunette out of her shell and was determined to do the same thing with Cindy.

"Alright, let's go!" Willow started sprinting and the three girls followed her as they ran towards the treehouse, where their boyfriends were waiting, holding sleeping bags. None of the girls bothered to bring sleeping bags because they knew their boyfriends were bringing theirs (wink, wink) and Willow made Cindy leave hers at the house.

"You girls ready to go?" Teddy asked after Willow gave him a kiss.

"Yeah!" Paige cried, smiling, and we started our journey.

We passed through the junkyard without getting caught by Milo, and we crossed the train tracks without getting chased down by a train. We slept throughout the night without any scary howling noises, and we walked _around_ the leech pond. The trip was pretty problem-free, but let's go back to when we slept in the forest that night.

Willow was lying in Teddy's sleeping bag and they were staring up at the stairs, long after everyone else had fallen asleep.

"It feels so weird being back here again," Teddy whispered in her ear and she nodded, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I know what you mean. I bet you think this whole idea was stupid," she whispered back and he shook his head.

"No. I think it was a great idea." He kissed her forehead and moved his lips down her face, to her neck. She snapped her head up and he followed her gaze: there was a white, silvery figure standing about ten feet away, watching us.

"Ray Brower?" Willow whispered.


	61. Epilogue

'ATTORNEY CHRISTOPHER CHAMBERS FATALLY STABBED IN RESTAURANT' The headline stared me in the face as I blinked back tears. I re-read the article again and again, unable to believe it. _Chris can't be dead,_ I thought, numbly.

I currently owned the diner in Castle Rock while Teddy was working odd jobs around the town, trying to settle down. He had applied again to get in the army after his first two rejections and I didn't yet know of the results. We were the only family of our gang still in Castle Rock.

"I have to go," I told my two young waitresses and hurried out to my car. I rubbed my eyes, furiously, trying not to cry so that I could be able to drive. I pulled my car into the driveway and ran into the house.

"Kids, where's your father?" I asked. My three kids were sitting in the living room, watching cartoons. Sabrina was twelve, Hunter was nine, and Logan was five.

"In your guys' bedroom," Sabrina replied, not looking up from the TV.

"What's wrong, Mommy?" Logan asked, noticing me crying and Hunter looked up, too.

"Yeah, Mom. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied. "I just need to talk to Daddy." I walked to our bedroom, and opened the door, the newspaper crinkling in my hand. Teddy was sitting on the bed, his head buried in his hands.

"Teddy?" I whispered.

"I didn't get in again," he sobbed. "They fucking rejected me..._again._"

"Baby, I'm sorry," I murmured, shutting the door and sitting down next to him on the bed. I decided to wait until Teddy was feeling better before I gave him the news about...Chris. Just the thought of one of my former best guy friends made me tear up again.

"I just want you and the kids to be proud of me. I want to help people, like my dad," he choked out and I hugged him close to me while I cried.

"Teddy, can we talk about something else, please? It's important." He looked up at me.

"Like what?" I gave him the newspaper and he stared down at the article. "Oh My God."

"I know," I sobbed.

"I can't believe he's..."

"I know."


End file.
